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HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  JERSEY 
COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 


(im 


I. 


t 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH 


JERSEY  COUNTY 


ILLINOIS. 


DELIVERED  AT  JERSEYVILLE.  JULY  4th,  1876. 

B.    B.    BT^.l^EIX.TOIsr. 


JACKSONVILLE,  ILL  : 

OI'KIER    STEAM    PBINTIN'i    QOUSB 
1878. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


JERSEY    COUNTY, 


ILLINOIS. 


{Delivered,  at  J~erseyvilU >,,  July  4,   1876, 


ib-s- 


IB.  IB/  HAMILT03ST. 


JACKSONVILLE,  ILL  : 

Courikb  Steam  Pkintino  House. 

1876. 


H\S& 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  sketch  reference  has  been  dah 
to  the  following  authorities  :  Western  Annals,  Reynolds' 
History  of  Illinois,  History  of  Illinois,  by  Davidson  &  Stuve, 
Atlas  of  Greene  and  Jersey  Counties,  Records  of  the  Circuit 
and  County  Courts,  and  the  History  of  Jerseyville,  by  Rev. 
L.  Grosvenor,  1853.  And  the  writer  desires  to  mention 
valuable  assistance  rendered  him  by  Messrs.  L.  R.  Lakin 
and  F.  M.  Roberts,  of  Carrollton  ;  M.  E.  Bagley,  T.J.  Selby, 
Hon.  R.  M.  Knapp,  O.  B.  Hamilton,  J.  H.  Buffington  and 
Wra.  McDovv,  of  Jersey  County.  Imperfect  as  the  sketch 
is,  it  would  have  been  still  more  so  without  their  help. 


» 


iyo 


Historical  Address. 


Co 


Within  the  current  year,  an  editorial  in  the  Christian  Union 
expressed  some  surprise  at  the  idea  of  the  great  West  partici- 
pating to  any  great  extent  in  the  rejoicings  of  our  Nation's  Cen- 
tennial, because  the  West  had  only  been  settled  and  developed 
within  the  last  fifty  years.  It  would,  perhaps,  excite  a  smile  to 
assure  the  learned  writer,  that  on  the  score  of  antiquity  Illinois 
is  but  very  little  behind  Plymouth  Rock,  and  that  the  smoke  of 
Saratoga  had  barely  settled  when  a  conquest  for  the  American 
arms  was  achieved,  without  shedding  a  drop  of  blood,  which 
added  territory  as  great  in  extent  as  the  inhabited  area  of  the 
original  thirteen  colonies.  Ninety-eight  years  ago  to-day,  Col. 
George  Rogers  Clark,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  men, 
acting  under  commission  from  Patrick  Henry,  then  Governor  of 
Virginia,  captured  Fort  Gage  and  the  village  of  Kaskaskia  from 
the  British,  and  thereby  ended  forever  the  rule  of  England  in 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.     It  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell  on 

'^J  the  particular  incidents  of  this  expedition.  When  I  think  of 
the  audacity  of  the  design,  the  small  means  at  command,  the 
hardihood  displayed,  with  the  splendor  of  the  result,  I  can  sym- 
pathize fully  with  the  sentiment  of  Joe  Daviess,  when  speaking 
of  Clark  and  his  achievements:  "When  I  think  of  this  I  feel 
like  Moses  at  the  burning  bush — '  Put  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy 
feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground.'  " 
<J-         Kaskaskia,   Cahokia,  and    Vincennes    fell  successively   into  the 

-^        hands  of  the  conqueror,  and  an   empire  was  redeemed  from  the 

J  baleful  influence  of  British  rule. 

True,  Vincennes,  while  held  by  a   sergeant   and   one  private, 
was   recaptured   by   Lieut. -Gov.  Hamilton — the    British    "  hair- 
buyer,"  as  he  was  called  by  the  "long-knives;  "  but  in  February 
following,   Clark   marched    across  the   country   and    retook  the 
il  post,  and  Lieut.-Gov.  Hamilton  with  it.     And  this  was  the  end 


f 


8O4O0 


4  History  ok  Jersey  County. 

of  the  Revolutionary  War,  so  far  as  Illinois  was  concerned  ;  for 
Clark,  by  a  master  stroke  of  diplomacy ,  had  succeeded  in  attach- 
ing the  French  population  and  their  Indian  allies  to  the  fortunes 
of  the  colonies.  If  the  means  had  permitted  Clark  to  have 
pushed  on  and  taken  Detroit,  and  thus  ended  British  domination 
on  this  side  of  the  lakes,  it  is  probable  that  the  defeat  of  St. 
Clair,  the  death  of  Crawford,  and  the  closing  expedition  of 
"  Mad  Anthony  "  would  have  been  unnecessary.  "  So  impor- 
tant were  Clark's  achievements  considered,  that  on  the  23d  of 
November,  177S,  he  and  his  brave  officers  and  men  were  voted 
the  thanks  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates  for  their  extra- 
ordinary resolution  and  perseverance  in  so  hazardous  an  enter- 
prise, and  the  important  services  thereby  rendered  the  country." 
"In  October,  177S,  the  Virginia  Assembly  erected  the  con- 
quered country,  embracing  all  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  claimed  under  this  conquest  and  otherwise,  into  the  county 
of  Illinois" — a  pretty  extensive  county,  which  has  since  been 
converted  into  five  large  States,  containing  a  population  now 
exceeding  10,000,000.  Col.  Clark  continued  to  be  the  military 
commander  of  all  the  western  territory,  both  north  and  south  of 
the  Ohio,  including  Illinois.  "  Col.  John  Todd,  then  residing  in 
Fayette  county,  Ky.,  who,  under  Clark,  had  been  the  first  man 
to  enter  Fort  Gage,  was  appointed  lieutenant-commandant  of 
the  county  of  Illinois."  "In  the  spring  of  1779  Col.  Todd 
visited  Kaskaskia,  and  began  at  once  to  organize  a  temporary 
government  for  the  colonies." 

On  the  15th  of  June  he  issued  the  following  proclamation: 

JOHN  TODD'S  PROCLAMATION,  JUNE  15,  1779. 
Illinois  {County)  to-irit: 

Whereas,  From  the  fertility  and  healthy  situation  of  the  land?  border- 
ing upon  the  Mississippi.  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Wabash  rivers,  the  taking  up 
of  the  usual  quantity  of  land  heretofore  allowed  for  a  settlement  by  the 
government  of  Virginia,  would  injure  both  the  strength  and  the  commerce 
of  the  country;  1  do,  therefore,  issue  this  proclamatfcn,  strictly  enjoining 
all  persons  whatsoever  from  making  any  settlements  upon  the  flat  lands 
of  said  rivers,  or  within  one  league  of  said  lands,  unless  m  manner  and 
form  of  settlements  heretofore  made  by  French  inhabitants,  until  further 
orders  herein  given.  And,  in  order  that  all  the  claims  to  land  in  said 
county  may  be  fully  known,  and  some  method  provided  for  perpetuating, 
by  record,  the  just  claims,  every  inhabitant  is  required,  as  soon  as  conven- 
iently may  be,  to  lay  before  the  person  in  each  district  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  a  memorandum  of  his  or  her  land,  with  copies  of  all  their  vouch- 
ers; and  when  vouchers  have  been  given,  or  any  lost,  such  depositions  or 
certificates  as  will  tend  to  support  their  claims;  the  memorandum  to  men- 
tion the  quantity  of  land,  to  whom  originally  granted,  and  when,  deducing 
the  title  through  various  occupants  to  the  present  possessor.    The  number 


History  of  Jersey  County.  5 

of  adventurers  who  will  shortly  overrun  this  country  renders  the  above 
method  necessary,  as  well  as  to  ascertain  the  vacant  lands  as  to  guard 
against  trespasses  which  will  probably  be  committed  on  lands  not  on  record. 

Given  under  ray  hand  and  seal,  at  K.iskaskia,  the  l">th  of  June,  in  the 
third  year  of  the  Commonwealth.  1779.  JOHN  TODD,  JR. 

"Three  hundred  family  boats  arrived  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
in  the  spring  of  1780,  mostly  destined  for  Kentucky.  Among 
the  immigrants  to  Illinois  we  note  the  names  of  James  Moore, 
Shadrach  Bond,  James  Garrison,  Robert  Kidd,  and  Larkin 
Rutherford,  the  two  latter  having  been  with  Clark.  They 
were  from  Virginia  and  Maryland.  With  their  families,  they, 
without  molestation  in  those  perilous  times,  crossed  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  descended  the  Ohio,  stemmed  the  Mississirjpi,  and 
landed  safely  at  Kaskaskia."  "James  Piggott,  John  Doyle, 
Robert  Whitehead,  and  a_Mr.  Bowen,  soldiers  in  Clark's  expe- 
dition, also  shortly  after  settled  in  Illinois."  In  17S5  "came 
Joseph  Ogle,  Joseph  VVorley,  and  James  Andrews,  all  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  each  with  a  large  family."  In  the  following  year  the 
settlement  was  further  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  James 
Lemen,  George  Atchinson,  and  David  Waddell,  with  their  fam- 
ilies, beside  several  others."  Col.  Todd  was  killed  in  the  battle 
of  Blue  Licks,  Ky.,  August  iS,  17S2,  and  was  succeeded  in  com- 
mand of  Illinois  county  by  a  Frenchman  named  Timothy  de 
Montbrun,  concerning  whose  administration,  either  as  to  acts 
performed  or  the  time  it  continued,  we   have  no  certain  account. 

The  ordinance  of  17S7  was  passed  on  the  13th  of  July  of  that 
year,  and  up  to  1790  there  was  literally  no  civil  government  in 
Illinois;  although  on  the  5th  of  October  of  17S7,  Maj.-Gen. 
Arthur  St.  Clair  had  been  appointed  by  congress  governor  of 
the  Northwest  Territory.  In  the  summer  of  17SS,  the  governor 
and  judges  (Samuel  Holden  Parsons,  James  Mitchell  Varnum, 
and  John  Cleve  Symmes)  met  at  Marietta,  the  first  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, and  adopted  and  promulgated  a  code  of  laws  for  the 
whole  territory.  While  some  counties  were  laid  off  in  Ohio, 
nothing  was  done  for  Illinois  until  February,  1790,  when  the 
governor  and  his  secretary  (Winthrop  Sargent)  arrived  at  Kas- 
kaskia. "  The  country  within  the  boundaries  of  our  present 
State,  extending  northward  to  the  mouth  of  Little  Mackinaw 
Creek,  on  the  Illinois,  was  organized  into  a  county,  which  was 
named  after  his  excellency,  St.  Clair,  and  may  be  called  the 
mother  of  counties  in  Illinois."  It  was  divided  into  three  dis- 
tricts,   with   three    judges — John    Edgar,  of   Kaskaskia;  John 


6  History  of  Jersey  County. 

Baptiste  Barbeau,  of  Prairie  du  Rocher;  and  John  D.  Moulin, 
of  Cahokia;  each  to  hold  court  in  the  district  of  his  residence. 
Court  was  to  be  held  every  three  months  in  each  district.  VVm. 
St.  Clair,  brother  of  the  governor,  was  appointed  clerk  and 
recorder  of  deeds,  and  Wm.  Biggs,  sheriff.  The  countv-seat 
was  located  at  Cahokia.  There  was  only  one  lawyer  ( Jiohn 
Rice  Jones)  in  Illinois.  Isaac  Darneille  came  into  the  territory 
before  the  year  1S00." 

The  wars  with  the  Indians  retarded  the  settlement  of  the 
country  from  1790  to  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  August  3,  1795. 
After  this  the  tide  of  emigrants  began  to  flow  steadilv  into  the 
territories.  In  this  year  the  governor  divided  St.  Clair  county 
by  running  a  line  due  east  to  the  Wabash,  through  the  New 
Design  settlement,  in  the  present  limits  of  Monroe  county, 
naming  the  county  south  of  said  line  Randolph,  in  honor  of 
Gov.  Randolph,  of  Virginia.  On  the  third  Monday  of  Decem- 
ber, 179S,  an  election  was  held  for  a  delegate  to  a  territorial 
legislature,  which  was  convened  in  Cincinnati  on  the  22d  of 
January,  1799.  Shadrach  Bond  was  elected  delegate  from 
Illinois. 

By  act  of  congress  approved  May  7,  1800,  the  Northwest 
Territory  was  divided,  and  the  western  part  was  called  Indiana, 
with  the  seat  of  government  located  at  Vincennes.  Wm.  H. 
Harrison  was  appointed  territorial  governor,  John  Gibson,  secre- 
tary, Wm.  Clark,  John  Griffin  and  Henry  Vanderburgh, 
judges.  January  3,  1805,  the  governor  ordered  an  election  for  a 
territorial  legislature,  to  meet  on  the  7th  of  February  ;  and  Shad- 
rach Bond  and  Wm.  Biggs,  from  St.  Clair,  and  George  Fisher, 
for  Randolph,  were  elected  delegates. 

By  act  of  congress  approved  February  3,  1S09,  all  that  part 
of  Indiana  Territory  lying  west  of  the  Wabash  river  should, 
after  the  first  of  March  following,  constitute  a  separate  territory', 
and  be  called  Illinois.  The  population  was  estimated  at  about 
9,000.  Ninian  Edwards,  chief  justice  of  Kentucky,  was  ap- 
pointed governor  April  24,  1809,  and  Nathaniel  Pope,  secre- 
tary; Jesse  B.  Thomas,  Alexander  Stuart  and  Wm.  Sprigg, 
judges.  Secretary  Pope  arriving  first  in  Illinois,  appointed  Elias 
Rector  attorney  general;  John  Hay,  sheriff;  Enoch  Moore, 
coroner,  and  seventeen  justices  of  the  peace.  On  the  nth  of 
June   following,  Governor    Edwards    assumed   the   duties  of  his 


History  of  Jersey  County.  7 

office.  Some  changes  took  place  in  the  appointments.  John 
Hay  was  reappointed  clerk  of  St.  Clair  county,  an  office  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  until  his  death,  in  1S45.  In  the  place  of  Rector, 
Benjamin  H.  Doyle  was  appointed  attorney-general;  but  he 
resigning,  John  J.  Crittenden  was  appointed;  but  after  a  few 
months  he  in  turn  resigned,  and  his  brother,  Thomas  L.  Critten- 
den, was  appointed.  Bv  the  census  of  1S10,  the  total  popula- 
tion was  found  to  be  12,282,  of  which  16S  were  slaves,  "a  gain 
of  about  400  per  cent,  in  the  preceding  decade."  At  this  time 
Wood  river  was  the  northern  boundary  of  settlements  in  Illi- 
nois. The  Indian  title  to  the  lands  lying  northward  had  never 
been  relinquished.  Not  long  after  this  the  Indians  became  ex- 
ceedingly troublesome,  stirred  up  by  Tecumseh,  the  worthy 
successor  ot  Pontiac.  Still  further  aroused  by  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe — in  which  Illinois,  like  Kentucky,  lost  some  of  her 
best  men — followed  by  the  massacre  at  Chicago,  August  15, 
1812,  arid  at  a  still  later  period  by  the  massacre  at  Wood  river 
in  1S14,  there  was  ample  employment  for  the  ten  companies  of 
rangers,  as  well  as  for  all  the  regular  troops  which  the  govern- 
ment could  supply.  During  the  war  period  but  small  additions 
were  made  to  the  population.  Forts  and  stockades  were  built, 
and  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  constant  alarm.  Still,  in  the 
way  of  law-making,  the  territorial  legislature  was  equal  to  the 
emergency,  and  some  of  the  most  astounding  statutes  may  be 
found  in  the  doings  of  that  period. 

Let  us  look  back  a  little.  On  the  16th  of  September,  1812, 
Gov.  Edwards,  by  proclamation,  organized  the  counties  of  Madi- 
son, Pope,  Gallatin  and  Johnson.  An  election  was  called  for 
members  of  the  territorial  legislature  on  the  Sth,  9th  and  10th 
days  of  October,  and  by  another  proclamation  the  legislature 
was  to  convene  on  the  25th  of  November.  The  members  of  the 
council  were:  Pierre  Menard,  of  Randolph,  president;  Wm. 
Biggs,  of  St.  Clair;  Samuel  Judy,  of  Madison;  Thomas  Fergu- 
son, of  Johnson;  Benjamin  Talbott,  of  Gallatin.  John  Thomas 
was  chosen  secretary.  The  house  of  representatives  consisted 
of  Wm.  Jones,  of  Madison;  Joshua  Oglesby  and  Jacob  Short, 
of  St.  Clair;  Geo.  Fisher,  from  Randolph;  Philip  Trammel 
and  Alexander  Wilson,  of  Gallatin;  and  John  Grammar,  from 
Johnson  county.  Their  clerk  was  Wm.  C.  Greenup.  Edwards 
county  was  organized  at  the  session  of  1814.     At  the  session  of 


8  History  of  Jersey  County. 

1815— '16,  the  counties  of  White,  Monroe,  and  Jackson  were 
organized. 

The  enabling  act  for  Illinois  to  form  a  State  government  be- 
came a  law  April  18,  1818.  The  convention  met  at  Kaskaskia 
in  July,  18 18,  and  closed  its  labors  on  the  26th  of  August  fol- 
lowing. Fifteen  counties  were  represented,  as  follows:  St, 
Clair,  Jesse  B.  Thomas,  John  Messenger  and  James  Lemen,  Jr. ; 
Randolph — Geo.  Fisher,  Elias  Kent  Kane;  Madison — Joseph 
Burroughs,  Benjamin  Stephenson.  Abraham  Prickett;  Gallatin — 
Michael  Jones,  Leonard  White,  Adolphus  Frederick  Hubbard; 
Johnson — Hezekiah  West,  Wm.  McFatridge;  Edwards— Seth 
Gard,  Levi  Compton;  White— Willis  Hargrave,  Wm.  Mc- 
Henry;  Monroe — Caldwell  Carnes,  Enoch  Moore;  Pope — 
Samuel  O'Melveny,  Hamlet  Ferguson;  Jackson— Conrad  Will, 
James  Hall,  Jr.;  Crawford — Joseph  Kitchell,  Edward  W.  Cul- 
lom;  Bond — Thomas  Kilpatrick,  Samuel  G.  Morse;  Union — 
Wm.  Echols,  John  Whittaker;  Washington — Andrew  Bank- 
son;  Franklin — Isham  Harrison,  Thomas  Roberts.  Jesse  B. 
Thomas  was  chosen  president,  and  Wm.  C.  Greenup  secretary 
of  the  convention.  The  State  was  admitted  on  the  third  of 
December,  1S18. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1S17,  (the  year  is  not  certain  in  authori- 
ties— I  have  examined  some  placing  it  as  late  as  1S19),  Auguste 
Chouteau  and  Benjamin  Stephenson,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  bought  at  Edwardsville,  of  the  Kickapoo  Indians,  "ten 
millions  of  acres  of  land,  lying  between  the  Illinois  river  on  the 
northwest,  the  Kaskaskia  on  the  southeast,  the  Kankakee  on  the 
northeast,  and  the  Mississippi  on  the  southwest."  And  on  the 
30th  of  August,  Benjamin  Parke  bought  for  the  United  States, 
of  the  Kickapoos  of  Vermilion,  all  the  lands  on  the  Wabash. 
In  consequence  of  these  purchases,  the  richest  lands  of  the  State 
were  thrown  open  to  settlement.  A  year  prior  to  this,  certain 
persons  had  made  small  settlements  south  of  the  Macoupin 
creek,  but  at  the  request  of  Gov.  Edwards  they  removed  to 
Madison  county,  and  remained  till  after  the  Indian  treaty  at 
Edwardsville.  The  first  settlement  made  in  the  present  limits 
of  Jersey  county,  is  given  as  June  10,  1S17,  by  David  Stockton 
and  James  Whitesides;  but  this  date  is  exceedingly  doubtful. 
From  Hon.  L.  T.  Whiteside,  of  Whitehall,  I  learn  that  his 
father,'  James  Whiteside,  made  in  this  prairie  two  improvements; 


History  of  Jersey  County.  9 

one  afterward  sold  to  Judge  Brown,  and  the  other  is  known  to 
us  as  the  Tohn  Brown  farm;  and  that  he  moved  to  Morgan 
county  in  182 1.  Samuel  Thomas  made  the  first  permanent  set- 
tlement north  of  the  Macoupin,  in  1S1S.  Next  to  these  we 
locate  the  settlement  near  the  Piasa,  in  1S19,  though  some  claim 
that  it  should  date  from  1S1S,  as  this  is  given  as  the  time  when 
the  Carrolls,  Cummings,  and  others  came  into  that  portion  of 
the  county.  So  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  Judge  John  G. 
Lofton,  John  D.  Gillham  and  others  came  into  the  county  from 
Madison  (it  was  all  Madison  then)  in  1819.  Joseph  White  and 
his  son-in-law,  Orman  Beeman,  came  about  the  same  time. 
Judge  Hinton  tells  me  that  he  saw  Col.  John  R.  Black  here  in 
the  same  year.  In  the  year  following,  John  Brown  and  others 
came  from  St.  Louis  county,  Mo.  The  oldest  entries  of  land  I 
find  to  have  been  made  January  5,  [821,  by  Jehu  Brown,  John 
Evans,  John  Thornton,  and  Gershom  Patterson;  Silas  Crain  on 
the  22d,  and  Philip  Grimes  on  the  23d  of  January,  1821.  These 
were  all  in  township  S  north  12  wot  of  the  third  principal 
meridian.  Entries  were  made  by  John  Evans  in  town  6-13,  on 
January  15th,  and  George  Finney  on  February  26th  of  that 
same  year.  Col.  John  R.  Black  is  probably  the  oldest  continued 
resident  now  living,  dating  from  1S19;  and  Win.  McDow  stands 
next,  dating  from  1S24.  Thos.  McDow,  familiarly  knowH  as  the 
"'Squire,"  came  and  settled  in  1S23,  and  resided  there  (in  7-1 1) 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  The  first  settlement  on  Otter  creek 
was  in  1S2S,  by  Thomas  White,  Jasper  Terry,  and  others.  The 
first  entry  at  Jerseyville  was  made  by  Joseph  M.  Fairfield, 
October  20,  1S23;  the  second,  five  years  afterward,  by  Lindsey 
H.  English  (August  21,  182S),  now  of  Sangamon  county.  A 
man  named  Ballard  built  the  first  cabin,  and  sold  it  to  James 
Faulkner  in  1S27.  It  was  in  1S21  that  the  counties  of  Greene, 
Fayette,  Montgomery,  Lawrence,  Hamilton,  Sangamon  and  Pike 
were  laid  off,  and  Carrollton  was  made  the  county-seat  of  Grene. 
The  present  county  of  Macoupin  was  included  in  the  limits 
of  Greene  until  the  year  1S29.  Joseph  Russell  and  Silas  Hamilton 
made  large  entries  of  public  lands  in  the  present  limits  of  Jersey 
county  in  1830.  The  settlements  made  in  this  county  were  of 
the  same  character  as  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  State — very 
largely  from  Virginia,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee;  although 
many  of  them   had  resided  tor  a  few  years  preceding  their  loca- 


io  History  of  Jersey  County. 

tion  here  in  the  older  settled  portions  of  Illinois,  especially  in 
that  part  now  known  as  Madison  county.  In  due  time  North 
Carolina,  Ohio  and  South  Carolina  contributed  a  respectable 
part  of  the  volume  of  immigrants.  The  reason  of  this  will  be 
obvious  on  a  moment's  reflection.  Every  pioneer  coming  into 
the  wilderness  left  relatives  behind,  who,  being  charmed  with 
the  reported  fertility  of  soil  and  beauty  of  the  prairie  landscape, 
desired  in  due  time  to  follow  and  share  in  the  advantages  so 
easily  secured.  At  a  later  period  this  was  emphatically  true  of 
those  who  came  from  Ohio,  and  at  a  still  later  period,  of  those 
who  came  from  New  Jersey.  And  the  same  remark  is  true,  in 
a  limited  degree,  of  those  who  came  from  Vermont.  Hence, 
while  so  many  were  relations,  all  were  neighbors,  and  all  within 
the  limits  of  the  county  were  friends.  Hospitality  and  sociability 
prevailed  everywhere,  both  from  necessity  and  choice. 

We  come  now  to  the  civil  jurisdiction  of  Greene  county, 
which  was  organized  by  act  of  the  legislature  in  the  winter  of 
182 1.  The  first  court  held  was  a  called  session  of  the  circuit 
court,  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1S21,  with  the  late  Gov.  John 
Reynolds  as  circuit  judge.  Thomas  Carlin,  for  one  term  gov 
ernor  of  the  State,  was  sheriff;  Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  clerk,  and 
Jacob  Waggoner,  coroner.  Of  the  first  grand  jury  called,  Gen. 
Jacob  Fry  is  the  sole  survivor — Cyrus  Tolman,  another  mem- 
ber, having  died  the  present  year. 

The  first  session  of  the  county  commissioners'  court  was  held 
in  Carrollton  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1S21,  and  there  were 
present  John  Allen,  Jehu  Brown  and  Seymour  Kellogg  as  com- 
missioners, and  Samuel  Lee,  Jr.,  was  appointed  clerk.  At  this 
session  the  commissioners  to  locate  the  seat  of  justice  reported, 
under  date  of  February  20,  1821.  This  report  was  signed  by 
Thomas  Carlin,  John  Allen,  Thomas  Rattan  and  John  Huitt. 
Of  these,  John  Huitt  is  the  sole  survivor.  The  county-seat  was 
located  at  Carrollton,  on  land  donated  to  the  new  county  by 
Thomas  Carlin.  At  this  session  John  Wilkins  was  licensed  to 
keep  a  tavern  on  the  Piasa,  about  one  mile  south  of  Delhi. 
In  later  times  Mr.  Wilkins  was  known  to  many  of  the  citi- 
zens of  this  county  as  the  father-in-law  of  Ferley  Siilo- 
way,  one  of  our  early  sheriffs.  Twenty  lots  owned  by  the 
county  in  the  town  of  Carrollton  were  ordered  to  be  sold.  At 
the  regular  June  term  of  this  court,  held  on  the  4th  of  June, 


History  of  Jersey  County.  ir 

iS2i,the  county  was  laid  off  into  military  districts.  The  first 
district  is  described  as  follows:  Beginning  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  county,  thence  north  and  east  with  the  county 
line  to  the  southeast  corner  of  township  7,  range  10  west;  thence 
north  to  the  line  between  towns  7  and  8;  thence  west  to  Otter 
creek  and  down  the  same  to  the  Illinois  river;  thence  down  the 
river  to  the  pi. ice  of  beginning.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this 
company  district  included  the  present  towns  of  Grafton;  Otter- 
ville,  Newbern,  Delhi  and  Brighton — a  large  field  from  which 
to  gather  a  militia  company.  The  second  company  district  to 
consist  of  township  8  north  ami  ranges  10,  11,  12,  13  and  14 
west  (including  the  present  towns  of  Fidelity,  Jersey ville  and 
Fieldon — the  most  populous  parts  of  Jersey  county).  Elections 
were  ordered  in  each  of  the  company  districts  for  one  captain, 
one  first  lieutenant  and  one  ensign,  fohn  D.  Gillham,  lohn 
Waddle  and  Samuel  Kinkead  were  appointed  judges  of  that 
election,  which  was  ordered  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas 
G.  Lofton.  Gershom  Patterson,  William  Adair  and  Nathaniel 
Rowdon  were  appointed  judges  of  the  election  in  the  second 
district,  and  this  election  was  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  lohn 
Thornton. 

At  this  session  Ira  Kelley,  Samuel  Kinkead  and  Jehu  Brown 
were  recommended  to  the  governer  (Shadrach  Bond)  as  suitable 
persons  for  the  office  of  justice^of  the  peace.  On  the  6th  of 
June  the  court  proceeded  to  lav  off  all  that  part  of  the  county 
lying  south  of  the  line  line  between  townships  7  and  S,  with  the 
attached  parts,  into  one  township,  to  be  called  Otter  Creek;  and 
all  south  of  the  Macoupin  and  north  of  Otter  Creek,  with  its 
attached  parts,  into  one  township,  to  be  called  Macoupin  town- 
ship. John  Findley  and  lohn  Wilkins  were  appointed  over- 
seers of  the  poor  in  Otter  Creek  township,  and  Abiram  McKin- 
nev  and  Joseph  Piggott  were  appointed  overseers  ot  the  poor 
in  Macoupin  township. 

Jurors  were  selected  at  this  term  for  the  ensuing  term  ot  the 
circuit  court,  and  I  find  the  following  named  residents  of  what 
is  now  Jersey  couuty:  Ezekiel  Gillham,  Wm.  Davidson.  Ger- 
shom Patterson,  John  D.  Gillham,  James  Whiteside  and  Philip 
Grimes.  All  these  I  have  known  personally,  though  some  of 
them  passed  long  ago  from  the  scenes  of  earth,  and  none  of 
them  are  living  to-dav. 


12  History  of  Jersey  County. 

At  a  special  term  of  the  county  court,  held  on  the  13th  of 
June,  Gershom  Flagg,  father  of  the  Hon.  \V.  C.  Flagg,  of 
Madison  county,  was  allowed  six  dollars  for  surveying  the  town 
of  Carrollton. 

During  the  summer,  or  the  preceding  one,  a  bold  and  daring 
robbery  was  committed  in  the  night  time,  at  the  house  of  an 
English  family  by  the  name  of  Dixon,  then  residing  where  Ad- 
dison Greene,  Esq.,  now  lives.  Wm.  B.  Whitesides,  then  sheriff 
of  Madison  county,  and  Maj.  Robert  Sinclair,  were  identified  as 
principals,  and  the  sum  taken  was  something  over  $1,200.  An 
alarm  was  made,  pursuit,  was  instituted,  and  the  robbers  were 
apprehended.  But,  through  the  assistance  of  friends  and  con- 
federates, the  supposed  guilty  parties  ultimately  escaped.  Sin- 
clair was  tried,  found  guilty  and  escaped  before  sentence,  at 
Carrollton,  at  May  term  of  the  circuit  court  in  1S22.  The  peo- 
ple's witnesses  were  Wm.  Dixon,  John  G.  Lofton,  James  Barnes, 
Thomas  G.  Lofton,  Wm.  Davidson,  Ezekiel  Gillham,  John 
Findley,  Wm.  Pinkard,  Henry  Hopkinson,  Charles  Gear  and 
Joab  White.  Wm.  B.  Whitesides  forfeited  bail,  but  his  securi- 
ties afterward  bringing  him  into  court,  he  was  discharged  with- 
out trial.  He  had  worn  out  or  bought  off  the  principals  in  the 
prosecution,  and  so  was  allowed  to  go  "  scot  free."  Sinclair 
was  afterward  heard  of  in  Arkansas,  a  member  of  the  territorial 
legislature.  This  affair  created  an  intense  excitement  at  the 
time,  and  was  the  talk  of  the  country  for  ten  years  after. 

Hon.  Joseph  Philips  was  judge  of  the  circuit  court  at  the 
spring  term  of  1822.  At  the  October  term  of  that  year  Thomas 
Reynolds  was  judge,  and  again  at  the  spring  term  of  1S23.  In 
the  September  term  of  1823,  and  then  until  the  May  term  of 
1S25,  John  Reynolds  was  judge.  From  the  latter  date  until 
the  April  term  of  1S27,  John  York  Sawyer  was  judge.  From 
this  date  until  Jersey  county  was  organized,  Samuel  D.  Lock- 
wood  was  judge.  John  G.  Lofton  was  the  first  probate  judge, 
as  I  find  an  allowance  made  him  of  $30.12  1-2,  in  full  for  his 
service  as  judge  of  probate  until  he  went  out  of  office,  and  $5 
for  recording  deeds.  This  was  at  the  December  term  of  the 
county  court  in  1S22.  He  had  been  in  that  year  a  candidate  for 
lieutenant-governor.  Among  the  jurors  for  the  spring  term  of 
the  circuit  court  in  1822,  I  find  the  names  of  Edward  Carroll, 
Joseph  White,  Robert  Avery,  Joseph  Piggott  and  John  Gunter- 


History  of  Jersey  County.  13 

man,  who  resided  in  the  south  part  of  the  county.  In  August 
of  that  year  I  find  that  Joseph  Piggott,  Thomas  Arnett  and 
Charles  Gregory  were  elected  count}-  commissioners.  Their 
first  term  commenced  on  the  second  day  of  September,  [822. 
At  the  March  term  of  1S23  Joseph  White  and  Benjamin  Brown 
were  appointed  OYerseers  of  the  poor  for  Macoupin  township, 
and  John  D.  Gillham  and  Joab  White  for  Otter  Creek  township. 
In  September,  1S24,  Jehu  Brown,  Abraham  Bowman  and 
Charles  Gregory  were  present  as  commissioners.  March,  1S25, 
Josiah  T.  Askew  and were  appointed  over- 
seers of  the  poor  for  Otter  Creek  township,  and  Major  Dodson 
and  Alexander  Smith  for  Macoupin  township.  June,  1S36, 
Otter  Creek  election  precinct,  John  G.  Lofton,  John  McDow 
and  Thomas  Cummings,  judges  of  election,  and  the  election  to 
be  held  at  the  house  of  John  G.  Lofton.  Elections  for  Macou- 
pin precinct  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Francis  Colean,  with 
Samuel  Gates,  Nathaniel  Rowdon  and  Alexander  Smith,  judges. 
Joseph  Piggott,  Jeremiah  Smith  and  Jehu  Brown  appear  as 
commissioners  at  the  September  term  of  1S26. 

In  June,  1S27,  the  south  part  of  Greene  county  was  redis- 
tricted,  as  follows :  Otter  Creek  district  includes  all  that  part  of 
Green  count}-  lying  south  of  the  line  dividing  townships  7  and  S 
north,  elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  Samuel  A.  Lofton. 
The  judges  of  election  were  Tohn  McDow,  John  G.  Lofton  and 
Walter  Cresswell.  Rich  wood's  district  is  bounded  as  follows: 
Beginning  at  the  southeast  corner  of  township  S  north,  range  12 
west;  thence  north  to  the  northeast  corner  of  said  township; 
thence  west  to  Macoupin  creek,  and  down  said  creek  to  the  Illi- 
nois river;  thence  down  said  river  to  the  line  between  7  and  S; 
thence  east  to  the  place  of  beginning.  Elections  to  be  held  at 
the  house  of  Abraham  Borer,  with  Gershom  Patterson,  Daniel 
Cox  and  Dennis  Carrico  as  judges.  Macoupin  district  to  in- 
clude all  the  rest  of  the  territory  south  of  the  Macoupin  creek 
lying  in  Greene  countv.  Elections  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
Lewis  Means,  with  C.  J.  Gardiner,  John  Green  and  Alexander 
Smith  as  judges. 

At  the  September  term  of  1S2S,  John  Barnett,  Alexander 
King  and  Charles  Gregory  appear  as  commissioners.  This  left 
the  territory  south  of  the  Macoupin  without  a  representative 
in  the  county  court.     In.  the  next  election  this  was  rectified,  for 


14  History  of  Jersey  County. 

in   September,   1S30,  Cyrus   Tolman,  Thomas  Cummjngs   and 
Cavil  Archer  appear 'as  commissioners. 

At  the  June  term,  1831,  the  following  persons  were  appointed 
judges  of  election:  Otter  Creek  precinct — Jasper  Terry,  John 
D.  Gillham  and  John  McDow;  Richwood's  precinct — Gershom 
Patterson,  Matthew  Darr  and  Francis  Colean.  Ordered,  that 
Otter  Creek  District  for  the  election  of  justices  and  constables 
be  divided  as  follows:  Commencing  at  the  corner  between  sec- 
tions 36  and  31,  from  thence  on  a  direct  line  to  the  southwest 
corner  of  T.  7  N.  R.  1 1  west;  from  thence  due  north  to  the 
southwest  corner  of  section  16,  in  town  S,  N.  R.  1 1  west;  thence 
due  east  to  the  county  line;  thence  south  to  the  southeast  corner 
of  said  county;  thence  due  west  to  the  place  of  beginning:  and 
that  the  foregoing  bounds  shall  constitute  a  separate  district,  to  be 
called  the  Piasa  district;  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  '.he  election 
be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Wilkins,  in  said  district,  and  John 
Wilkins,  William  Draper  and  James  Simmons  were  appointed 
judges  of  election.  Woodbury  Massey  was  licensed  to  sell 
goods  for  one  year  from  April  27,  1831.  Elections  for  Otter 
Creek  district  to  be  held  at  the  house  of  George  Slaten.  These 
items  are  given  to  show  who  were  living  here,  and  to  show  how 
thinly  the  land  was  settled. 

In  September  of  this  year  occurred  one  of  the  vilest  murders 
ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  county.  Samuel  Lofton,  son 
of  John  Lofton,  now  residing  near  Fieldon,  in  this  county,  a 
young  lad,  was  sent  from  the  Macoupin  to  Mills's  store,  on  the 
Mississippi  river,  to  collect  a  small  sum  of  money,  which  he  did. 
On  his  return  he  fell  in,  at  Carroll's  tan-yard,  with  an  Irishman 
who  went  by  the  name  of  James  Sullivan,  who  got  up  to  ride 
with  him ;  and  on  the  way,  when  fairly  out  of  sight,  the  boy 
was  killed  and  the  money  (fifteen  dollars)  was  taken  from  him. 
The  murderer  escaped.  This  was  Saturday  evening.  The  boy's 
parents  supposed  he  had  stopped  with  friends  near  Gillham's 
Mound,  and  were  not  uneasy  about  him  until  the  days  wore 
away  .and  no  tidings  came;  then  search  was  made,  and  .he  vul- 
tures guided  to  his  remains.  I  was  present  when  the  inquest 
was  held  by  Coroner  P.  N.  Rampey,  and  saw  the  burial  which 
followed.  The  next  spring  Sullivan  was  apprehended  in  New 
Orleans,  brought   back   to   Carrollton,  tried,  convicted   and  exe- 


History  of  Jersey  County.  15 

cuted,  giving  as  his  true  name  Patrick  Cavenaugh.     lie  was  the 
first  man  hung  for  murder  in  Greene  county. 

The  county  clerk  having  died,  Edward  D.  Baker  was,  at  the 
Tune  term,  appointed  clerk  pro  tern.  Roads  from  Eminence  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river  ordered  viewed.  Woodbury 
Massey  and  George  Finney  were  severally  licensed  to  sell  goods. 
Tames  Mason  was  authorized  to  keep  a  ferry,  S.  is.  T.  6,  R.  12- 
In  December  Gregg  McDaniel  and  George  Smith  took  out  mer- 
chants' license.  In  June.  1833  Hugh  McGiil  paid  merchant's 
license,  and  Thomas  Barnctt  was  allowed  to  erect  a  mill  on 
Otter  creek;  and  in  September,  1S33,  J.  Daggett,  Evan  Blair 
and  T.  W.  Whiting  were  appointed  trustees  of  school  lands  in 
T.  6,  R.  12  W. 

The  year  [S34  brought  in  Thomas  McDow  to  the  county 
court  in  place  of  Thomas  Cummings,  and  Ca\  i1  Archer  in  place 
of  Alex.  King;  and  these  were  continued  as  commissioners  until 
183!  — a  term  of  four  year-.  It  was  during  this  period  that  the 
principal  industry  of  the  country  became  the  laying  off  of  paper 
towns  and  speculating  in  coiner  lots.  The  wildest  chemes  were 
advocated  with  impunity,  ami  fortunes  were  made  or 
men  could  he  found  to  contribute  to  the  general  mania.  This 
was  the  case  not  only  in  Jersey  county,  but  all  over  the  State. 
I  have  not  the  dates  before  me  of  but  a  ver.  tew  1  f  these  towns. 
Camden,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  is  probably  the 
oldest,  having  been  surveyed  March  11.  1832,  but  prior  to  that 
I.  N.  Piggott  had  begun  a  town  called  Eminence,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  I  am  not  certain  that  it  was  ever  laid  off  and  the 
plat  recorded.  We  have  seen  that  lames  Mason  had  esta 
a  ferry  at  Grafton,  in  [833.  From  small  beginnings  the  land 
was  cleared  and  the  town  of  Grafton  was  surveyed — the  atlas 
savs  in  April.  [836,  while,  if  1  had  testified  from  mem 
should  have  given  the  date  at  least  two  years  earlier.  At  the 
session  of  the  legislature  in  the  winter  of  1S34,  a  charter  was 
procured  for  the  Grafton  Manufacturing  Company,  with  James 
M.  m,  Silas  Hamilton  and  others  as  corporators.  This  com- 
pany was  not  organized  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
jerseyville  was  laid  off  by  Lott  &  Daley.  October  1st,  1834, 
and  having  the  county-seat  established  here  probably  saved  it 
from  the  death  of  the  rest  of  the  paper  towns.  As  a  matter  of 
curiosity,  I  may  be  permitted  to  name  a  few  of  these  speculative 


16  History  of  Jersey  County. 

ventures.  Beginning  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county,  we 
have  Randolph;  next  a  multitude  of  additions  to  Grafton;  Nevv- 
bern — not  the  Newbern  of  to-day,  but  another  lying  somewhere 
near  two  miles  to  the  southwest.  Upper  Grafton,  Hartford, 
Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Teneriffe,  Salisbury  and  Delaware  are 
now  recalled  as  being  the  outcropping  of  this  branch  of  indus- 
try. The  United  States  Bank  was  about  winding  up,  and  the 
other  banks  issued  floods  of  paper;  prices  of  labor  rose,  and 
along  with  it  all  the  commodities  that  go  into  trade,  includ- 
ing clothing  and  subsistence,  until,  instead  of  being  producers, 
we  became  importers  of  bread.  Prudent  people  foresaw  the 
result,  and  kept  out  of  debt,  but  the  speculators  were  almost 
universally  crushed.  Corner  lots  became  a  drug  in  the  market, 
the  paper  towns  dried  up,  and  with  a  few  exceptions  have  so  re- 
mained unto  this  day.  If  there  had  been  gas  and  moonshine  in 
the  time  of  speculation,  it  was  not  so  in  the  result.  The  distress 
was  real.  And  in  the  breaking  down  of  these  speculative  for- 
tunes many  good  people  were  carried  away  in  the  wreck.  The 
crash  came  in  February,  1S37.  This  ended  town-making  and 
town  speculations,  so  far  as  Jersey  county  is  concerned. 

But  during  this  period  of  speculation  there  had  been  some 
substantial  progress  made.  Farms  had  been  commenced,  new 
and  better  houses  were  going  up,  barns  here  and  there  were 
visible;  still  there  was  not,  after  the  crash,  much  money,  and  the 
little  in  the  hands  of  the  people  was  of  very  uncertain  value. 
Then  followed  the  days  of  internal  improvement  by  the  State; 
and  because  Greene  county  was  not  on  any  of  the  projected 
lines  of  road,  she  took  her  share  of  the  spoils  in  money,  and 
prudently  loaned  it  out.  One-third  of  this  came  to  Jersey,  and 
was  by  her  carefully  expended  upon  the  three  principal  thor- 
oughfares within  her  own  borders.  By  the  side  of  present 
taxes  it  is  only  a  drop,  but  in  the  day  of  which  I  speak,  $6,000 
was  a  very  considerable  sum  of  money. 

The  vote   on   the   separation  of  Jersey  from   Greene  occurred 

August  5th,  1S39,  and  is  thus  entered  on  the  records: 

Vote  for  the  erection  of  Jersey  county 1239 

Vote  against  the  erection  of  Jersey  county 714 

Majority  for 525 

But  what  of  religious  culture  and  of  education  at  this  time? 
At  this  date  the  religious  element  gathered  only  in  two  churches, 


History  of  Jersey  County.  17 

with  a  single  exception — the  Methodists  and  Baptists.  1  have 
not  the  dates  for  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  classes,  but 
presume,  from  the  families  who  came  here,  that  there  must  have 
been  a  Methodist  class  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Gillham 
camp  ground  in  1S20.  The  first  Baptist  church  south  of  the 
Macoupin  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Judge  Jehu  Brown,  in 
November,  1S23,  and  this  is  now  known  as  the  Kane  Baptist 
Church.  A  second  Baptist  church  was  organized  at  the  house 
of  Judge  Lofton,  on  the  25th  of  February,  1S27,  known  as  the 
Salem  Baptist  Church.  At  a  somewhat  later  day  a  Baptist 
church  was  organized  on  Borer's  creek,  but  it  became  extinct, 
and  so  remained  until  rallied  by  Elder  J.  V.  Rhoads,  about  1S39, 
and.  this  church  is  now  known  as  the  Lebanon  Baptist  Church. 
Among  the  preachers  of  an  early  day  were  the  brothers  Joseph 

and  I.  X.  Piggott,  C.J.  Gardiner,  Miles,  Otwell, 

and  Phelps,  for  the  Methodists;  and  Elders  John  Clark,  Sears 
Crane,  Major  Dodson  and  his  sons  Elijah  and  Fletcher,  for  the 
Baptists.  On  the  15th  of  February,  1834,  Revs.  Thomas  Lip- 
pincott  and  Elisha  Jenney  organized,  at  the  house  of  the  late 
X.  L.  Adams,  a  Presbyterian  church,  with  eighteen  members. 
And  these  were  all  the  organized  churches  in  the  present  bounds 
of  Tersey  county,  at  the  date  of  the  organization  of  said  county 
in  1S39.  But  there  was  not  a  meeting-house,  a  building  erected 
exclusively  for  public  worship,  in  the  whole  county.  Of  course 
croakers  bewail  the  lack  of  sociability  and  the  hospitality  of  the 
pioneer  times,  but  they  would  hardly  be  willing  to  go  back  to 
the  sermons  in  private  houses,  with  the  auditor  seated  on  a  rail 
or  slab  bench  through  the  time  of  a  two-hours'  discourse,  and 
vet  these  were  among  the  luxuries  of  the  good  old  pioneer  days. 
We  say  nothing  of  the  preaching,  as  to  style  or  quality,  save 
that  it  was  adapted  to  the  culture  of  the  times. 

But  what  of  education,  and  where  were  school-houses  then? 
Very  few  were  they.  At  Grafton  a  modest  frame  building  of 
one  story,  another  at  Jerseyville,  another  in  Lofton's  Prairie, 
with  perhaps  a  half-dozen  more  in  prairies  round  about,  and  in 
the  woody  regions  log  houses  of  most  primitive  style  in  point  of 
construction.  And  all  these  had  been  erected  by  the  voluntary 
labor  and  contributions  of  the  people.  Xo  tax  had  then  been 
levied — the  common  school  system  of  Illinois  had  then  no  ex- 


i8  History  of  Jersey  County. 

islence.  To  this  general  statement  there  was  one  exception. 
The  late  Silas  Hamilton,  dying  in  November,  1834,  left  $4,000 
for  the  benefit  of  his  friends  and  relatives  in  his  neighborhood, 
$2,000  for  the  erection  of  a  school-house  large  enough  for  a 
place  of  public  worship,  and  $2,000  for  the  endowment  of  a 
primary  school.  This  building  was  erected  by  his  executors 
upon  the  ground  selected  by  himself,  in  the  summer  of  1S35, 
and  in  June,  1S36,  the  first  school  was  begun,  sustained  in  part 
by  subscriptions  and  in  part  by  the  interest  of  the  endowment 
fund.  Hence  this  school  is  now  forty  years  old,  and  has  been, 
until  the  establishment  of  graded  schools  under  the  common 
school  law,  the  foremost  school  of  the  county. 

Having  thus  given  a  slight  survey  of  the  situation,  let  us  now 
return  to  the  history  of  Jersey  county,  beginning  with  its  organ- 
ization in  the  fall  of  1839.  Jerseyville  had  been  incorporated  as 
a  towr.  for  about  two  years,  or  from  July,  1S37. 

October  14,  1839,  the  county  commissioners' court  met.  Pres- 
ent— Thomas  Cummings,  Solomon  Calhoun  and  Amos  Pruitt, 
commissioners.  Richard  Graham  not  having  filed  his  bond,  R.  L. 
Hill  was  appointed  clerk  pro  tern.  George  H.  Jackson  gave 
bond  as  recorder,  Joseph  Crabb  as  school  commissioner.  J.  N. 
English  had  been  elected  sheriff  and  John  R.  Black  treasurer; 
N.  R.  Lenton,  coroner.  E.  M.  Daley  was  authorized  to  buy 
books  for  the  county,  R.  L.  Hill  to  buy  a  stove  for  the  office, 
and  Solomon  Calhoun  and  R.  L.  Hill  to  build  a  clerk's  office  on 
the  square.  Two  weeks  thereafter,  (October  28),  Richard  Gra- 
ham filed  his  bond,  and  was  duly  installed  as  clerk. 

At  the  regular  term,  December  2d,  Thomas  Cummings  drew 
the  short  term,  one  year,  Calhoun  two  years,  and  Pruitt  three 
years.  Peyton  C.  Walker  built  the  clerk's  office  for  $220,  to  be 
paid  for  in  eleven  orders.  At  this  time  the  grand  and  petit 
jurors  were  allowed  75  cents  per  day  each,  and  the  Backwoods- 
man office  received  $5.50  for  printing  blanks.  Thomas  Vance 
was  appointed  agent  to  loan  internal  improvement  fund.  The 
count}-  was  divided  into  seven  precincts:  Phills  Creek — David 
Myers,  Josiah  Jackson  and  Elijah  Barnes,  judges  of  election; 
Jerseyville — John  Anderson,  Robert  B.  Robbins  and  George  H. 
Collins,  do.;  Richwood's — Thomas  Vance,  Stephen  M.  Richey 
and  Reuben  S.  Spencer,  do.;  Delhi — \Vm.  Draper,  Wm.  Hack- 


History  of  Jersey  County.  19 

ney  and  James  Cummings,  do.;  Mississippi — John  D.  Gillham, 
David  A.  Thompson  and  Chancey  Brown,  do.;  Otter  Creek — 
Thomas  Hamilton,  James  Dougherty  and  Coe  Edsall,  do. ;  Illi- 
nois— David  Utt,  Thomas  Johnson  and  Samuel  Hoye,  do. 

The   circuit .  court   held    a  special   session   on  the -day  of 

;  Hon.  Wm.  Thomas,  judge,  and  Robert  L.   Hill,  clerk. 

The  following  served  as  grand  jurors:  Elijah  Van  Home,  fore- 
man; Wm.  Draper,  John  D.  Gillham,  Thomas  Hamilton,  Sam- 
uel L.  McGill,  James  Davis,  John  Corson,  George  Hoffman, 
Josiah  Rhoads,  John  Hawkins,  Henry  Coonrod,  Mebane  An- 
derson, John  Kimball,  George  Smith,  John  Brown  and  Robert 
B.  Robbins.  This  session  was  for  one  day  only.  Judge 
Thomas  remained  on  the  bench  until  the  spring  of  1S41.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Samuel  D.  Lockwood. 

At  a  called  session  of  the  county  court  held  on  the  13th  day 
of  Januarv,  1S40,  Elijah  Van  Home,  Solomon  Calhoun  and 
Thomas  L.  McGill  were  appointed  a  building  committee  for  the 
new  court-house,  and  the  plan  submitted  to  the  court  was  ap- 
proved, but  on  the  4th  of  June  following  the  plan  was  with- 
drawn and  a  new  one  substituted. 

In  the  August  election  of  1S40,  Chauncey  Brown  and  Cyrus 
Tolman  were  elected  commissioners.  John  N.  English  was  re- 
elected sheriff,  George  W.  Lowder  was  elected  collector,  and 
Aaron  Rue,  coroner;  and  in  March  following  it  was  entered  of 
record  that  the  court  was  satisfied  with  the  action  of  Jersey  ville 
on  the  court-house  question.  At  this  session  Joseph  Crabb  was 
removed  from  the  office  of  school  commissioner,  and  R.  L.  Hill 
was  appointed,  but  refused  to  serve.  O'n  the  21st  of  June  Jos- 
eph Crabb  was  reinstated.  At  this  session  Grafton  was  made 
an  election  precinct,  and  John  Keyes,  Paris  Mason  and  William 
Williams  were  appointed  judges.  August  14,  1S41,  George  H. 
Pigues  filed  his  bond  and  took  the  oath  as  school  commissioner; 
September  S,  1S41,  he  resigned,  and  James  Harriott  was  ap- 
pointed, gave  bond  and  took  the  oath  of  office.  Solomon  Cal- 
houn was  assessor,  and  George  W.  Lowder  was  collector. 

The  first  five  marriages  recorded  are  as  follow:  John  P.  All- 
corn  to  Mary  Hawkins,  Oct.  17,  1S39,  by  David  Myers,  J.  P.; 
Thos.  Jackson  to  Rebecca  Cowan,  Oct.  17,  1S39,  by  David  Myers, 
I.  P.;  David  Arnspiger  to  Jane  Stephens,  Oct.  20,  1S39,  by  Da- 


20  History  of  Jersey  County. 

vid  Myers,  J.  P.;  Nathan  C.  Swarm  to  Mary  Ann  Patton,  Oct. 
31,  1839,  by  John  Keyes,  J.  P.;  James  G.  Swann  to  Elizabeth 
A.  Rallston,  Oct.  31,  1S39,  by  John  Keyes,  J.  P. 

In  September,  1S42,  Wm.  Palmer  appeared  as  county  com- 
missioner, James  Harriott  filed  his  bond  as  collector,  and  Coe 
Edsall  as  assessor.  September  25th,  1S43,  Thomas  Carroll  was 
sworn  in  as  county  commissioner,  Thomas  L.  McGill  was  elected 
recorder,  and  Coe  Edsall  assessor,  and  George  W.  Lowder  was 
elected  county  clerk  and  took  the  oath  of  office.  August,  1S44, 
Maurice  Armstrong  was  elected  county  commissioner;  August, 
1S45,  Ambrose  WyckofF,  do.;  August,  1S46,  Benjamin  Cleaver, 
do.;  August,  1S47,  James  McKinney,  do. 

The  election  for  members  of  the  constitutional  convention 
was  held  in  April  of  this  year,  and  Dr.  A.  R.  Knapp  and  Wm. 
Bosbyshell  were  elected  for  Jersey  and  Calhoun,  over  David  E. 
Brown,  Benj.  F.  Child  and  E.  A.  D'Arcy.  On  the  accession  of 
Judge  Lockwood,  R.  L.  Hill  was  reappointed  as  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court,  and  at  the  spring  term  of  1S41  J.  A.  Chesnut  was 
appointed  prosecuting  attorney  pro  tem. 

In  August,  1842,  Perley  Silloway  was  elected  sheriff,  and 
John  Brittain,  coroner.  In  August,  1S44,  they  were  re-elected, 
and  in  August,  1S46,  Jonathan  Plowman  was  elected  sheriff, 
and  George  Hoffman,  coroner.  In  1S4S  Plowman  was  re- 
elected, and  Win.  Loy,  coroner.  At  the  September  term  of 
that  year  Judge  Lockwood  retired  from  the  bench,  and  the  bar 
called  a  meeting  and  expressed  regret ;  and  in  Mav,  Hon.  David  M- 
Woodson  went  on  the  bench  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court.  In 
the  following  election,  Murray  Cheney  was  elected  sheriff,  and 
Tnomas  L.  McGill,  clerk  of  the  circuit  court.  In  August,  1852, 
Smith,  a  murderer,  moved  his  case  to  Scott  county,  and  was  there 
convicted  and  hung.  In  1S52  Thomas  L.  McGill  was  re-elected 
circuit  clerk,  and  J.  M.  Hurd,  sheriff.  In  1S54  Jonathan  Plow- 
man was  again  elected  sheriff,  and  Benjamin  Wedding,  coroner. 
In  1S56  Benjamin  Wedding  was  elected  sheriff,  T.  L.  McGill, 
clerk,  and  Felix  Burney,  coroner.  In  iS^S  Charles  H.  Bowman 
was  elected  sheriff.  In  1S60  Marcus  E.  Bagley  was  elected  circuit 
clerk,  Wm.  H.  Cummings,  sheriff,  and  Lewis  Johnson,  coroner. 
In  1862  C.  H.  Bowman  was  again  elected  sheriff,  and  James  L. 
Beirne,  coroner.     In    1S64   Marcus  E.  Bagley  was  again  elected 


History  of  Jersey  County.  21 

clerk,  Thomas  J.  Selby,  sheriff,  F.  XV.  Besterfeldt,  coroner.  ME. 
Bag-lev  was  appointed  master  in  chancery  in  April,  1S67.  In  June, 
1S67,  the  Hon.  Charles  D.  Hodges  was  elected  judge  of  the  cir- 
cuit court.  In  the  preceding  election  (November,  1S66)  C.  H. 
Bowman  was  again  elected  sheriff.  In  1868  James  Henry  Belt 
was  elected  sheriff,  Sidney  Noble,  coroner,  M.  E.  Bagley,  cir- 
cuit clerk,  and  a  reappointment  made  for  him  as  master  in  chan- 
cery. In  1S70  Stephen  H.  Bowman  was  elected  sheriff,  and 
E.  L.  Herriott,  coroner.  In  1872  C.  II.  Bowman  was  re-elected 
sheriff,  E.  L.  Herriott,  coroner,  and  M.  E.  Bagley,  circuit  clerk. 

Charles  H.  Bowman  dving  on  the day  ot ,  Stephen 

H.,  his  son,  was  elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term,  on  the  15th 
of  February,  1S73.  In  November,  1874,  Augustus  H.  Bariett 
was  elected  sheriff,  and  is  the  present  incumbent  of  that  office. 
Turn  we  to  the  records  of  the  county  court,  and  resume  with 
the  adoption  of  the  constitution  in  1S4S.  In  the  election  of  that 
year  Tames  A.  Piggott  was  chosen  commissioner,  and  served 
until  December,  1S49,  when  George  E.  Warren  entered  upon 
duty  as  judge,  with  James  McKinney  and  Jacob  Lurton  as  asso- 
ciates. This  court  continued  until  the  close  of  1852,  with  Geo. 
W.  Lewder  as  clerk.  In  1853  Judge  Warren  was  re-elected, 
lasper  M.  Terrv  and  Charles  H.  Bowman  were  elected  associ- 
ates. In  1S56J.  Murray  Bacon  was  elected  associate  in  place  of 
C.  H.  Bowman.  In  1857  O.  P.  Powell  was  elected  judge,  and 
R.  R.  Elev  and  Wm.  Williams,  associates;  Andrew  Jackson, 
clerk,  and  J.  F.Smith,  treasurer.  In  1S61  Richard  I.  Lowe  was 
elected  judge,  Jacob  Lurton  and  Larkin  Richardson,  associates, 
Andrew  |ackson,  clerk,  and  John  E.  Van  Pelt,  treasurer.  In 
lS6=;  Judge  O.  P.  Powell  was  again  elected  judge,  William  H. 
Allen  and  Phineas  Eldridge,  associates;  Andrew  Jackson,  clerk. 
In  1S69  J.  M.  Hurd  was  elected  Judge,  Caleb  Noble  and  G.  W. 
Gorin,  associates,  and  Thomas  J.  Selby,  cierk.  In  December, 
1872,  Robert  A.  King  was  appointed  and  commissioned  by  the 
governor  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  J.  M.  Hurd.  In  1873 
Wm.  H.  Allen,  I.  R.  Eley  and  Edward  Colean  were  elected 
commissioners;  Robert  A.  King,  judge;  Thomas  J.  Selby? 
clerk;  Twines  M.  Young,  treasurer.  In  1S74  G.  S.  Compton 
Was  elected  commissioner,  and  in  1875  Wm.  II.  Fulkerson  was 
elected  commissioner,  and  John  Stout,  treasurer.  This  brings 
the  list  of  county  officers  to  date. 


22  History  of  Jersey  County. 

The  first  session  of  the  circuit  court  was  held  in  the  old  school- 
house;  the  second  session  was  held  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  which  at  that  time  was  neither  plastered  nor  seated. 
The  court-house  was  built  in  1840,  and  cost  about  $6,000. 
Among  the  records  I  find  a  second  subscription,  made  in  1S40 
because  the  first  had  not  been  large  enough  to  cover  the  cost  of 
the  building.  Additions,  repairs  and  improvements  have  been 
made  from  time  to  time,  until,  without  being  extravagant  or 
pretentious,  it  presents  an  appearance  of  neatness  and  comfort  un- 
surpassed by  any  county  building  of  the  same  age,  within  the  circle 
of  mv  acquaintance.  .Some  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  after  the 
court-house  was  built,  the  county  erected  two  fire-proof  offices 
for  the  records  of  the  two  courts.  And  while  these'  improve- 
ments have  been  going  on  about  the  square,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  general  average  of  farm-buildings,  school-houses 
and  churches  have  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  county  build- 
ings. When  I  came  into  this  county,  in  1S31,  there  were  only 
two  brick  buildings  in  it — one  belonging  to  Maj.  Patterson, 
which  was  blown  down  by  a  tornado  in  that  same  summer;  the 
other,  built  by  John  D.  Gillham,  in  the  summer  of  1S30,  is  still 
standing,  and  is  now  forty-six  years  old.  There  wery  very  few 
frame  houses  and  still  fewer  frame  barns  in  the  whole  county. 

No  one  of  the  present  generation  can  imagine  the  beauty  of 
this  wilderness,  who  did  not  pass  over  it  in  that  early  day. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  I  apprehend,  that  still  greater  changes 
will  be  manifest  in  the  forty-five  years  to  come,  when,  instead 
of  one  railway,  you  will  have  them  reaching  out  from  your 
beautiful  county-seat  in  every  direction. 

The  fiscal  statement  of  June,  1S48,  after  the  county  had  been 
organized  nearly  nine  years,  shows  the  following  footings: 

Amount  of  orders  issued  during  the  fiscal  year $4,538.80 

Amount  of  orders  paid,  including-  cash  in  treasury 4,538.80 

Of  course  the  cash  on  hand  was  but  a  small  part  of  this  latter 
amount.  But  seven  years  later  a  very  considerable  advance  had 
been  made,  as  the  following  will  show.     In  1S55  the  levy  stood: 

For  State  purposes $7,485.29 

For  County  purposes 6,073.48 

For  Special  purposes 2,350.86 

Total $15,909.63 

To  show  the  advance  in   the  science  of  taxation,  I  now   give 


History  of  Jersey  County  23 

the  list  for  1S57.  Total  value  of  real  and  personal,  $2,374,735, 
of  which  lands  and  town  lots  were  $1,725,295.  On  this  valua- 
tion the  state  tax  was  $11,161.25;  the  county,  $9,498.94;  school, 
$4,749.27,  and  special  tax,  $17,227,67,  making  a  total  of  $42,- 
637.33 — nearly  a  three-fold  increase  in  the  space  of  two  years- 
Eight  years  later  we  rind  the  wealth  still  increasing,  for  in  1S65 
the  lew  made  this  showing:  For  state,  $18,581.06;  county, 
$34,104.30;  school,  district,  etc.,  $13,459.28,  making  a  total 
of  $66,144.64 — a  gain  of  over  fourteen  thousand  in  eight 
years.  At  this  time  there  were  29,802  acres  of  wheat  in  culti- 
vation, 20,785  acres  of  corn,  and  4,771  of  other  field  products. 
But  in  four  years  a  large  advance  was  made.  In  1S69  the 
account  stood:  State  taxes,  $39,75 1,0<7'  an^  tne  county  $50,- 
848.99,  making  a  total  for  the  year  of  $90,600.96 — a  gain  of 
nearly  $24,000  in  four  years.  However,  the  account  for  1S72 
shows  that  the  capacity  for  taxing  had  not  been  exhausted;  then 
the  state  tax  was  $24,731.70,  and  the  county  levy  was  $77,829.96 
■ — making  a  total  of  $102,561.67. 

The  .services  of  judges  of  probate  were  for  the  following 
times: 

Joseph  G.  Scott,  from   October,  1S39,  to  September,  1847. 

J.  M.  Hurd,  from  September  1,  1S17,  to  December,  1849. 

Geo.  E.  Warren,  from  December,  1849,  to  December,  1S57. 

O.  P.  Powell,  do 

R.  I.  Lowe,  do 

O.  P.  Powell,  do 

J.  M.  Hurd,  do 

Robert  A.  King,  do  1S72,  to  the  present  time. 

There  have  been  five  county  clerks  since  the  organization  of 
the  county,  viz. : 

R.   L.  Hill,  whose  term  of  service  was     2  weeks,  October.  1S39. 
Richard  Graham, 
George  W.  Lowder, 
Andrew  Jackson, 
Thomas  T-  Selby, 
ent  incumbent. 

Since  1S39  there  have  been  but  three  clerks  of  the  circuit 
court — Robert  L.  Hill,  Thomas  L.  McGill,  and  Marcus  E. 
Bagley.  The  latter  i>  the  present  incumbent,  and  will  doubt- 
less be  his  own  successor. 


1857, 

do 

1861. 

IS6I, 

do 

1865. 

1865, 

do 

1869. 

1869, 

do 

1872. 

do 

do 

4  years,  or  until      1843. 

do 

do 

14             do               1S57. 

do 

do 

12              do                1S69. 

do 

do 

7  years,  and  is  the  pies- 

24  History  of  Jersey  County. 

Jersey  county,  at  the  time  of  its  organization,  was  a  whig 
county,  having  a  majority  in  favor  of  that  party  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  But  while  this  was  true,  the  democrats 
always  had  a  fair  proportion  of  the  offices,  elected  generally  in 
consequence  of  the  personal  popularity  of  the  candidates.  On 
the  disruption  of  the  old  whig  party  the  democracy  came  into 
power,  and  have  uniformly  carried  the  elections  ever  since.  An 
exception  to  this  occurred  two  years  ago,  but  that  was  a  division 
on  purely  local  questions.  The  following,  copied  from  the  elec- 
tion returns,  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  status  of  parties  and  of 
the  growth  of  population  at  the  same  time.  I  give  the  vote  of 
Jersey ville  in  1S37: 

July  1 — E.  M.  Daley,  Milo  Bermett  and  Murray  Cheney,  judges,  and  ,Io.s. 
G.  Seott  and  Joel  Corey,  clerks. 

John  Shaw,  for  representative,  had 64  votes. 

John  Greene,  "  "   50 

Total 114  votes. 

August  6,  1838 — Milo  Bennett.  Thos.  Cummings  and  George  H.  Collins, 
judges:  Peter  Perrine  and  John  Lmberger,  clerks. 

Cyrus  Edwards,  for  governor,  had 88  vote*. 

Thomas  Carlin,  "  78      " 

Total 166  votes. 

Stephen  A.  Douglas,  for  representative  in  congress 80  votes. 

John  T.  Stuart,  "  "         85      " 

Total 165  votes. 

October  7,  1839 — John  Anderson.  Geo.  W.  Lowder  and  Geo.  H.  Collins, 
judges;  R.  L.  Hill  and  Peter  Machener,  clerks. 

John  N.  English,  for  sheriff 164  votes. 

George  W.  Lucas  "        "     141 

W.  D.  F.  Slaten  20,  Irwin  Little  7,  and  Joseph  Piggott  7 34  votes. 

Total 339  votes. 

Joseph  G.  Scott,  for  judge  of  probate 197  votes. 

Isaac  Darnielle,     "       "  "       142 

Total 339  votes. 

1840 — John  Anderson,  Geo.  H.  Collins  and  Penuel  Corbett,  judges;  J.  C. 
Graham  and  James  Harriott,  clerks. 

David  M.  Woodson,  for  representative 228  votes. 

A.  W.  Cavalry.  "  "  143      " 

Total 371  votes. 

Wm.  H.  Harrison,  for  president 230  votes. 

M.  VanBuren 150      " 

Total 380  votes. 


History  of  Jersey  County.  25 

To  impart  an  idea  of  the  growth  of  the  county,  I  will  now 
give,  by  precincts,  the  votes  for  two  years,  with  an  interval  of 
thirty-two  years  between: 

1842.  1874. 


Ford    Duncan. 

Jerseyvillp,  first  poll 119  mi 

Jer.M'\  vi Lie,  second  poll 63  115 

OtterCreek 8  62 

Plasft 67  93 

Kich woods 97  16 

Grafton..  18  36 

Philo  Creek 11  42 

Illinois        26  41 

Mississippi 6  46 

Total 415  531 

Scattering 27 

Total  rote*for  governor 973 


Wike. 

.Jerseyville,  east 221 

JerseyviUe,  west 352 

Grafton .     .  251 

Itichwoods 156 

Otter  creek 57 

Mississippi 46 

Jersey   Landing   .....  .111 

Piasa 88 

Delhi 90 

Phille  Creek 118 

Illiuois 37 

Tola! 1520 


It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  entire  vote  of  the  county  in 
1S42  was  not  equal  to  the  vote  of  Jerseyville  precinct  in  1S74, 
while  in  the  county  the  vote  has  nearly  trebled  in  that  space  of 
time.  My  recollection,  however,  is  that  the  vote  of  1S42  was 
not  a  very  full  one,  and  the  same  would  probably  hold  good  of 
the  vote  in  1S74.  It  would  be  a  very  safe  estimate  to  put  the 
vote  of  the  county  at  3,200  to  3,300.  The  population,  by 
census  returns,  stands  very  nearly  in  the  same  ratio:  1S40, 
4,535;  1S50,  7,354;  1S60,  12,061;  1S70,  15,054.  Gain  in  the 
first  decade,  62  per  cent.;  in  the  second,  63,  and  in  the  third,  24 
per  cent.  Taking  the  last  as  the  probable  increase  since,  and 
we  should  have  a  population  a  little  less  than  17.000.  To  one 
who  has  known  this  county  for  nearly  a  half  century,  the 
changes  are  marvelous  indeed.  Following  the  atlas,  I  find  the 
number  of  voters  to  be  3,579,  as  given  in  1870;  2,856  dwellings, 
1,044  forms,  87,895  acres  of  improved  land;  while  the  wheat 
produced  was  514,840  bushels,  and  of  corn,  587,945;  of  oats, 
73,120.  Yet  fifty  years  ago  there  was  not  one  thousand  acres 
of  land  in  cultivation  in  the  entire  county.  There  are  parties 
here  now  living,  who  were  here  then;  as  for  example,  our  fel- 
low-citizen, J.  T.  Grimes,  who  was  born  fifty-six  years  ago,  in 
sight  of  this  ground  on  which  we  stand  to-day ;  or  Marcus  Gill- 
ham,  who  was  not  quite  nine  years  old  when  he  came  into  this 
county,  and  has  been  a  resident  here  for  the  last  fifty-seven 
years;  or  Win.  McDow,  who  was  also  born  in  Madison  county, 
and  is  now  sixty-eight  years  old,  and  has  resided  continuously  in 
the  county  for  the  last  fifty-two  years. 


26  History  of  Jersey  County. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  representatives  and  senators  in  the 
state  legislature,  with  the  dates  of  election: 

Representatives — Samuel    T.   Kendall,  1842;  James  Harriott,    1844 
Thomas  Cumminga,  1846:    Isaac  Darneille,  1848;  L.   F.  McCrillis.  1§54 
Wright  Casev.  1856 ;   J.  N.  English.  1860;  same.  1862;  R.  M.  Knapp,  1866 
Thomas  B.  Fuller.  1868;  Geo.  W.  Herdman.  1870;  Robert  A.  King,  1870; 
Wm.  McAdams.  Jr.,  1872;  0.  P.  Powell.  1874. 

State  Senators—  A.  L.  Knapp,  1858;  Wm.  Shephard,  1866  and  1870. 
Mr.  Shepherd  resigned  during  the  last  term,  and  Wm.  H.  Allen  was 
elected  to  fill  out  the  remaining  time.    , 

In  1S36  there  was  formed  in  Lofton's  prairie  the  first  anti- 
slavery  society  in  all  this  region  of  country.  Thomas  McDow 
was  the  first  president,  and  James  Brown  was  secretary.  In 
May,  1537,  Owen  Lovejoy  made  a  speech  before  that  society,  at 
a  meeting  held  in  Lofton's  prairie,  and  this  speech  was  probably 
the  first  ever  made  by  him  in  the  State- — it  was  not  the  last  by 
several  hundred!  Connected  with  the  agitation  of  those  times, 
was  more  or  less  excitement  in  regard  to  an  "  underground  rail- 
road," having  a  principal-depot  at  Jerseyville,  and  branches  ex- 
tending into  the  various  settlements  of  the  county.  It  was  even 
thought  that  some  of  the  citizens  of  the  county  knew  more  of 
these  dark  practices  than  good,  law-abiding  people  should.  In 
those  days  the  anti-slaverv  agitators  went  a  step  further,  by  dis- 
solving their  connection  with  existing  parties  and  starting  one 
of  their  own.  In  the  contest  of  1S44,  if  the  liberty  party  did 
not  poll  as  many  votes  as  the  others,  they  made  quite  as  much 
noise  and  attracted  as  much  attention  as  any  other  party.  How 
wisely  they  labored  and  prayed  and  suffered,  history  can  now 
assure  us.  Certainly,  among  my  treasures  there  is  no  relic 
which  I  value  higher  than  the  records  of  the  Lofton  Prairie 
Anti-Slavery  Society.  Very  many  of  that  society  passed  away 
before  the  agitation  of  their  time  had  culminated  in  the  war  of 
the  rebellion. 

In  the  Mexican  war  Jersey  county  had  no  organized  repre- 
sentation. Several  of  her  sons  entered  the  ranks  and  did  good 
service  for  their  country  in  helping  forward  the  conquest  of 
Mexico.  Their  names  and  their  number  are  to  me  unknown, 
save  in  part,  and  hence  I  omit  their  mention  altogether,  lest  the 
omission  of  some  equally  worthy  should  be  construed  into 
studied  forgetfulness.  But  in  the  more  recent  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion we  are  under  no  necessity  of  passing  over  the  distinguished 


History  of  Jersey  County.  27 

services  of  her  sons,  for  here  Jersey  county  was  represented  in 
organized  bodies  of  volunteers — in  the  14th  regiment  by  com- 
pany F,  led  into  the  field  by  Captain,  afterward  General,  S.  M. 
Littlefield;  part  of  company  D,  in  the  27th  regiment,  by  Lieu- 
tenant Brock;  in  the  61st  regiment  by  company  C,  by  Captains 
Warren  Ih.rie  and  John  T.  Hesser;  by  company  D,  led  by  Cap- 
tains John  H.  Reddish  and  Daniel  S.  Keeley,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major;  in  the  97th  regiment  by 
company  K,  led  by  Captain  B.  F.  Slaten,  and  company  H,  by 
Captain  Mortimer  B.  Scott;  in  the  124th  by  part  of  company  C, 
led  by  Lieutenant  Terry;  in  the  12th  cavalry  by  part  of  com- 
pany B,  beside  large  numbers  scattered  through  various  com- 
mands, some  of  whom  were  found  in  other  States.  From  the 
enrollment  of  1S62  I  find  that  Jersey  county  had  1,984  men  lia- 
ble to  military  duty,  of  which  number  73S  were  then  actually  in 
the  service.  I  may,  in  this  connection,  remark  that  every  de- 
mand was  met  and  every  quota  filled  to  the  close  of  the  war, 
notwithstanding  the  situation  of  the  county  on  the  border  of  the 
State,  and  the  frequent  presence  on  her  soil  of  armed  bands  of 
guerrillas,  horse-thieves  and  robbers.  In  looking  back  over  the 
situation  in  those  troublous  times,  we  wonder  that  on  the  whole 
so  few  lives  were  sacrificed  in  the  conflict  of  the  angry  and  dis- 
cordant elements.  It  speaks  well  tor  the  conservative  influence 
of  the  sober,  thoughtful  people  of  the  county,  that  the  peace  of 
•domestic  life  was  so  well  preserved. 

If  Jersey  county  cannot  boast  of  a  long  line  of  military  heroes, 
she  can  show  that,  for  age  and  population,  she  is  not  behind  any 
of  her  sisters  in  the  matter  of  success  in  the  civil  service — in 
the  constitutional  convention  of  1S47,  having  been  represented 
by  Dr.  A.  R.  Knapp;  in  that  of  1S62  by  the  Hon.  William  H. 
Allen;  in  that  of  1S70  by  Geo.  W.  Herdman.  She  has  furnished 
a  representative  in  congress  for  six  years  in  the  persons  of  the 
brothers  Anthony  L.  and  Robert  M.  Knapp,  both  of  whom  are 
still  in  the  service  of  the  country — the  latter  as  Mayor  of  this 
beautiful  city  of  Jerseyville,  and  the  other  at  the  capital  of  the 
State  as  a  lawyer  of  distinguished  success. 

Forty-five  years  ago  there  was  but  one  post-office  in  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Jersey  county,  and  this  was  at  Eminence,  kept  by 
I.  N.  Pigrsrott.     At   a   later  date  this  was  moved  to  Newbern 


28  History  of  Jersey  County. 

and  its  name  changed ;  but  prior  to  this  removal  Otter  Creek 
post-office  was  established,  and  T.  F.  Brock  was  appointed  post- 
master, but  this  office  was  turned  over  to  Newbern,  and  there- 
fore discontinued.  The  second,  in  point  of  time,  was  at  Kane, 
and  Z.  H.  Adams  was  postmaster.  The  third,  not  counting 
Otter  Creek,  was  at  Jersey ville,  E.  M.  Daley,  post-master;  the 
fourth  at  Grafton,  Paris  Mason,  post-master;  the  fifth  (a  private 
office)  at  Otter  Creek,  J.  M.  Hurd,  post-master.  To  these  have 
been  added  Delhi,  Fieldon,  Fidelity  and  Elsah,but  the  dates  and 
the  order  of  appointment  I  have  not  within  reach.  It  is  in  the 
memory  of  some  now  living  when  all  our  mail  matter  was 
brought  from  Altpn,  at  that  time  the  nearest  post-office  to  the 
settled  portions  of  the  county. 

The  first  newspaper  established  in  Greene  county  was  by 
Paris  Mason,  at  Grafton,  with  John  Russell,  of  Bluffdale,  as 
editor.  It  was  called  the  Backwoodsman.  This  was  in  1S37, 
and  its  publication  was  continued  until  after  the  organization  of 
Jersey  county.  It  was  then  sold  to  a  joint-stock  company,  and 
its  publication  resumed  at  Jerseyville  by  A.  S.  Tilden,  in  the 
spring  of  1S40.  At  a  later  period  Tilden  retired  and  Fletcher 
&  Parenteau  were  printers  and  publishers.  This  office  was 
burned  down,  and  Fletcher  went  to  Carrollton  and  published 
the  Advocate  in  1842.  Then  Win.  H.  Allen  published  the 
Grafton  Phctnix,  and  this  was  continued  until  1S44.  After  this 
a  paper  was  started  at  Grafton,  and  then  removed  to  Jersey- 
ville, after  a  while  changing  its  name  and  appearing  in  1849 
under  the  name  of  the  Prairie  Slate.  But  after  many  changed 
of  editors  and  proprietors,  this  office  was  also  burned.  The 
two  papers  now  published  have  had  a  varied  historj',  but  under 
their  present  management  have  achieved  so  much  of  a  success 
that  they  may  now  be  considered  permanent  institutions.  The 
jfersey  County  Democrat,  by  J.  I.  McGrady,  and  the  y^rsey- 
ville  Republican,  by  Win.  H.  Edgar,  have  fairly  earned  the 
popularity  they  now  so  eminently  enjoy. 

In  a  thanksgiving  sermon  preached  by  Rev.  L.  Grosvenor,  on 
the  24th  of  November,  1S53,  I  find  the  following  passage: 

"  If  we  had  in  Illinois,  or  in  the  town  of  Jerseyville,  an  efficient  and 
comprehensive  system  of  public  schools,  such  as  they  have  in  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  even  in  some  particular  towns  in 
our  own  State,  we  could  very  well  do  without  a  seminary,  established  by 


History  of  Jersey  County.  29 

private  funds.  But  is  there  a  present  prospect  th.it  the  general  apathy 
with  regard  to  public  schools  will  give  place  to  a  zeal  in  this  behalt.  which 
will  produce  a  system  that  will  give  to  the  children  of  Jerseyville  anything 
like  a  thorough  education?" 

After  the  lapse  of  twenty  years,  Jerseyville  is  prepared  to 
answer  this  question  affirmatively.  Illinois  now  takes  a  rank  to 
which  she  is  fairly  entitled  by  wealth  and  population.  She  is 
not  one  whit,  in  her  zeal  or  effectiveness  of  her  system,  behind 
her  elder  sisters  of  the  east.  And  Jerseyville,  in  her  graded 
school,  can  show  as  thorough  work  as  in  any  school  of  like  grade 
in  the  east  or  west. 

I  have,  in  the  previous  part  of  this  sketch,  given  an  outline  of 
the  schools  at  the  organization  of  the  county.  Through  the 
kindness  of  your  efficient  superintendent  of  schools  in  this 
county,  I  am  permitted  to  present  a  summary,  as  I  have  gleaned 
it  from  his  very  full  report  of  1874.  Whole  number  of  children 
under  twenty-one  years  of  age,  7,874;  number  over  six  and  un- 
der twenty-one,  5,245;  whole  number  of  school  districts,  70;  of 
districts  having  school  five  months  in  the  year,  sixty-six;  not  so 
much  as  five  months,  two;  no  schools,  two;  whole  .num- 
ber free  public  schools  sustained,  fifty-seven;  months  taught, 
466;  whole  number  pupils  enrolled,  3,563;  of  these  1,785  are 
males,  1,778  are  females;  whore  number  of  teachers,  100;  of 
these  fifty-four  are  males,  and  forty-six  females;  number  of 
graded  schools,  seven;  number  of  days'  attendance,  2689,166; 
number  of  private  schools,  three.  Total  number  of  pupils  in 
private  schools,  ninety-four. 

Volumes  in  district  libraries,  247.  Number  of  school  houses, 
sixty-nine;  of  these  three  are  stone,  ten  brick,  ten  log,  and  for- 
ty-six are  frame.  Amount  of  district  taxes  received  from  collec- 
tor, $40,962.60;  amount  of  interest  from  township  fund,  $3,- 
164. 3S;  amount  from  State  school  fund,  $6,163.43;  aRg,eg;,te 
receipts  from  all  sources,  $71,791.80;  amount  paid  to  teachers, 
$29,293.85;  amount  paid  for  new  school  houses,  $16,439.20; 
amount  of  township  fund's  principal,  $41,786.96;  amount  of  dis- 
trict taxes  levied,  $49,513.52.  Of  those  who  have  filled  the 
office  of  superintendent  since  the  county  was  organized,  I  may 
be  permitted  to  mention  in  their  order,  Joseph  Crabb,  James 
Harriott,  B.  B.  Hamilton,  Hiram  Bridges,  H.  H.  Howard,  Wm. 


30  History  of  Jersey  County. 

J.  Herdman,  C.  H.  Knapp,  and  the  present  incumbent,  Win.  H. 
Lynn. 

Looking  over  the  field,  there  is  doubtless  much  that  could  be 
made  better,  and  yet,  as  contrasted  with  the  beginning  of  things, 
how  grand  the  result!  We  shall  begin  the  new  century  with  a 
promise  of  progress  in  the  future  such  as  the  fathers  never 
dreamed  of  beholding. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  progress  of  the  county  in  religious 
matters.  It  has  been  noted  that  at  the  organization  of  the  coun- 
ty, there  was  not  a  house  in  it  built  exclusively  for  a  place  of 
worship.  Since  that  time  there  have  been  erected,  and  are  now 
standing,  the  following  houses  of  worship:  For  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church — at  Elsah,  Grafton,  Salem,  Shiloh,  Meadow 
Branch,  Otterville,  East  Newbern,  Jerseyville,  Fidelity,  Ebene- 
zer,  and  Jerseyville,  colored;  (total,  n.)  For  the  Baptists — 
Jerseyville,  Otterville,  Antioch,  Fidelity,  Lebanon,  Paradise,  and 
Jerseyville  colored,  (7.)  For  the  Presbyterians — Jerseyville 
First  and  Second,  (2.)  For  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians — 
Newbern,  Otterville  and  Fieldon,  (3.)  For  the  Catholics — Jer- 
seyville, Grafton  and  Fieldon,  (3.)  For  the  Lutherans — Jersey- 
ville and  Fieldon,  (2.)  Total  now  in  use,  twenty-eight  houses. 
Parsonages  are  owned — by  the  Methodists,  2;  by  the  Catholics, 
3;  Presbyterians  1,  and  Baptists  1.  This  gives  a  house  of  wor- 
ship for  about  every  541  of  the  population,  and  besides  this  it  is 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  several  churches  have  built  two  houses 
within  the  thirty-seven  years  of  which  we  are  speaking.  It  is  a 
matter  of  regret  that  I  cannot  give  even  an  approximate  value 
to  these  houses.  If  we  estimate  them  as  making  an  average  of 
$5,000,  we  should  have  church  property  worth  $155,000,  includ- 
ing the  value  of  parsonages,  estimated  at  $2,000  each.  Further- 
more, there  are  a  number  of  organizations  without  a  place  of 
worship,  save  as  they  are  permitted  to  meet  in  the  district  school 
houses.  Taking  all  these  into  account,  and  we  shall  find  the 
number  of  churches  organized  as  about  thirty-five.  There  is  a 
Sunday-school  attached  to  each  one  of  these  churches,  or  nearly 
so,  there  being  enough  Union  and  Mission  schools  to  make  up 
the  difference,  and  this  would  give  one-half  as  many  Sunday- 
schools  as  school  disiricts;  and  if  there  is  an  average  attendance 
of  100 — and    I   think    that   would  be  a  very  large  average — it 


History  of  Jersey  County.  •  31 

would  leave  about  2,000  bovs  and  girls  out  of  the  Sunday-school 
over  six  years  old.  It  will  be  apparent,  by  and  by,  that  some- 
thing more  is  needed  than  to  pile  up  brick  and  mortar,  in  order 
to  educate  and  evangelize  the  crowds  of  young  people  who  are 
coining  on.  The  house  of  worship  and  the  schod  house  are 
almost  indispensable  conditions — but  they  are  only  elements — in 
the  grand  work  of  training  a  people  to  virtue  and  haopiness. 

It  has  been  said,  "  There  is  no  royal  road  to  learning";  and 
so,  in  like  manner,  the  blessings  of  a  worshipping,  devout  heart 
are  only  to  be  secured  by  a  patient  "continuance  in  well  doing  ". 

"Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  history  ot  the  Societies  for  mu- 
"  tual  relief,  brotherhood  and  benevolence." 

The  Pioneer  among  these  was  the  Jerseyville  Division,  No. 
16,  Sons  of  Temperance,  organized  August  4th,  1847.  Charter 
members:  G.  C.  Wood,  E.  J.  Palmer,  N.  L.  Adams,  A.  P. 
Brown,  Wm.  B.  Nevius,  T.  L.  McGill,  A.  B.  Morean,  C.  H. 
Knapp,  P.  C.  Walker,  F.  Osborn,  George  Wharton,  A.  P. 
Staats  and  W.  J.  West.  Nearly  or  quite  500  members  were 
initiated;  three  Grand  Worthy  Patriarchs  were  taken  from  its 
membership;  a  hall  worth  something  near  $2,000  was  built;  but 
in  the  round  of  the  years,  the  workers  grew  weary,  and  retired 
from  the  contest,  allowing  their  property  to  pass  from  their  hands, 
and  the  cause  to  die  in  the  house  of  its  friends.  Bro.  G.  C. 
Wood  was  the  first  W.  P.,  and  N.  L.  Adams  first  W.  A. 

Franklin  Section,  No.  9,  Cadets  of  Temperance,  was  organ- 
ized Sept.  2S,  1S4S.  The  charter  members  were:  T.  A.  Boy- 
akin,  W.  Leigh,  D,  Sunderland,  D.  S.  Yates,  P.  D.  Cheney,  F. 
Potts,  H.  N.  Wyckoff,  W.  Cook,  R.  J.  Hill,  E.  Miner,  C.  H. 
Vandike,  P.  Updike,  and  W.  A.  Potts.  R.  J.  Hill  was  elected 
W.  A.,  and  D.  S.  Yates,  Secretary. 

The  Jerseyville  Union,  Daughters  of  Temperance,  was  organ- 
ized April  21,  1853,  with  twelve  members:  Mary  Combs,  Sarah 
Hansel,  Sarah  Culver,  Mary  A.  Smith,  Mary  Osborn,  F.  Mau- 
pin,  Manila  Levine,  Elizabeth  Dunsdan,  Martha  Nichols,  Mary 
Snediker,  Miss  Lawrance  and  Elizabeth  McGannon.  This,  like 
the  preceding,  belongs  to  the  defunct  institutions.  Perhaps  one 
cause  of  falling  away  may  have  been  the  failure  to  carry  the  pro- 
hibitory liquor  law  ot  1S54.  While  Jersey  county  gave  a  major- 
ity for  the  law  of  some  420,  it  was  defeated  by  some   14,000  or 


32  •  History  of  Jersey  County. 

more  votes  in  the  State.  A  stronger  reason  may  be  found  in 
the  fact  that  very  many  of  these  members  became  identified 
with  other  organizations,  and  preferred  working  with  them, 
rather  than  in  the  Division  of  Sons  of  Temperance. 

Prior  to  1847,  tnere  was  a  County  Temperance  Society  in  ex- 
istence, with  branches  in  all  the  principal  neighborhoods,  but 
this  was  short-lived.  The  Washingtonians  spread  over  the 
country  like  a  prairie  fire,  and  only  lasted  for  a  single  season. 
To-day  there  is  a  more  crying  need  of  a  good  working  organi- 
zation of  temperance  men  than  ever  before. 

The  Jersey  ville  Lodge,  No.  53,  ot  Odd  Fellows,  was  institu- 
ted May  5,  1S48.  Charter  members:  P.  C.  Walker,  A.  C. 
Hutchinson,  Samuel  Cowan,  James  H.  Bringhurst,  and  C.  H. 
Roberts.  Twenty-seven  members  were  admitted,  among  whom 
were  Geo.  E.  Warren,  Wm.  Yates,  Jonathan  Plowman,  W. 
Casey,  N.  L.  Adams,  James  C.  Perry,  R.  L.  Hill,  and  Perley 
Silloway.  Wm.  Yates  was  elected  N.  G.;  R.  L.  Hill  V.  G., 
and  C.  H.  Roberts  Secretary.  The  first  Odd  Fellows'  hall 
was  built-in  1851,  at  a  cost  of  $2,000,  on  Main  street;  this  was 
afterwards  sold,  and  a  new  hall  erected  on  Pearl  street.  This 
is  probably  one  of  the  best  lodge  rooms,  outside  of  the  larger 
cities,  in  the  State.  The  Odd  Fellows  have  been  fortunate  in 
the  matter  of  good,  steady,  reliable  members,  faithful  officers, 
and  have  consequently  enjoyed  a  larger  prosperity  than  any  kin- 
dred institution. 

The  Jerseyville  Encampment,  No.  20,  of  Odd  Fellows,  was 
instituted  in  1853..  Charter  members  were:  W.  Casey,  C.  H. 
Roberts,  P.  C.  Walker,  N.  L.  Adams,  E.  A.  Casey,  A.  L. 
Knapp,  and  L.  Grosvenor.  L.  Grosvenor  was  elected  C.  P.; 
E.  A.  Casey  H.  P.,  and  N.  L.  Adams  S.  W.  But  this  organi- 
zation was  very  far  from  being  a  success;  and,  after  some  years 
of  trial,  its  charter  was  surrendered.  In  1S6-,  a  new  effort  was 
made;  the  camp  revived;  a  new  charter  was  obtained,  with  the 
same  numbers  as  before,  and,  I  understand,  is  now  in  a  healthy, 
flourishing  condition. 

The  Morning  Sun  Lodge,  No.  94,  of  Free  Masons,  was  or- 
ganized under  dispensation,  June  25,  1S50.  Charter  members: 
A.  B.  Morean,  R.  S.  Holenback,  Luther  Corey,  Solomon  Cal- 
houn, N.  L.  Adams,  C.  H.  Roberts,  B.  F.  Page,  E.  J.   Taylor, 


History  of  Jersey  County.  33 

Wm.  P.  Campbell,  and  Asa  Sneli.  B.  F.  Page  was  elected 
W.  M.;  A.  B.  Morean,  S.  W.,  and  Wm.  P.  Campbell,  J.  VV. 
For  several  years,  this  lodge  maintained  its  organization,  and 
new  lodges  went  out  from  its  borders — first,  Fidelity,  and  then 
King  Solomon's  lodge  at  Kane — and,  after  these,  Full  Moon 
lodge  at  Meadow  Branch,  but  since  removed  to  Grafton.  These 
organizations  subtracted  so  much  from  the  strength  of  the  Morn- 
ing Sun  lodge,  together  with  its  own  internal  difficulties,  that  its 
charter  was  surrendered,  and  the  lodge  ceased  to  exist.  A  new 
lodge  has  since  been  chartered,  under  the  name  of  Jerseyville 
lodge,  which  has  had  a  remarkable  degree  of  prosperity.  The 
record  of  the  Chapter  is  as  follows: 

Masonic. — Jerseyville  Chapter,  No.  140,  R.  A.  M.  Dispensation  grant  id 
February  4,  1*70.  by  John  M.  Pearson.  First  meeting,  February  11,  1S7i>; 
First  officers:  John  L.  White,  H.  P.;  Robert  M.  Knapp,  E.  K.;  Morns  K. 
Locke,  E.  S.  First  work  done  on  February  12.  1870 — Bro.  James  A  Locke 
made  M.  M.  Date  of  charter,  October  7.  1870.  Charter  "members:  Geo 
L.  Hassett,  Robert  M.  Knapp.  Andrew  Jackson.  Smith  M.  Titus,  Joseph 
B.  Schroder,  John  N.  Squier.  Morns  L.  Locke.  Ludlow  P.  Squier,  Wil- 
liam L.  Hassett.  .Milton  D.  Bobbins.  James  S.  Daniels,  Nicoll  F.  Smith,  Jr.. 
James  H.  Belt.  Charles  E.  Miner,  James  A.  Locke,  Stephen  H.  Bowman, 
Robert  Newton  and  Hiram  McCluskey.  Regular  convocation,  Monday 
after  the  full  moon  in  each  month.  Present  officers:  Morris  R.  Locke, 
M.  E.  H.  P.;  Ludlow  P.  Squier,  E.  K.;  Ho>atio  N.  Belt,  E.  8.;  James 
A.  Locke.  Secretary;  Stephen  H.  Bowman,  treasurer;  Rev.  Nathan  E.  Har- 
mon, chaplain;  James  S.  Daniels,  C.  of  H.;  Charles  E.  Miner,  R.  S. ;  Jos- 
eph G.  Marston,  K.  A.  C;  David  M.  Houghtlin,  G.  M.  of  3d  V.;  Benj.  F. 
Calhoun,  (i.  M..  2d  V.  ;  Lewis  Y.  McAdams,  G.  M.  1st  V.;  Wm.  S.  Bren. 
ton,  Geo.  M.  Trook.  stewards;  James  Eads,  sentinel. 

During  the  current  year,  an  organization  of  the   Knights  of 

Pythias  has  been  effected. 

Knigiits  op  Pythias. — Antioch  Lodge.  No.  65;  instituted  April  li,  1876,' 
with  the  following  charter  members:  Geo.  W.  Herdman,  Geo.  C.  Cockrell, 
Wm.  H.  Edgar,  A.  H.  Barrett.  Kobert  B.  Leak.  W.  S.  Bowman,  J.  1.  Mc- 
Gready,  James  .P.  Holcombe,  Samuel  Snedeker.  Bart.  Wedding,  Henry  T. 
Nail,  Geo.  M.  Eaton,  H.  D.  Stelle.  Charles  E.  Casey.  Elias  Cockrell,  Henry 
Nevius,  John  Wiley,  James  H.  Bothwell.  Henry  D.  Field  and  Wm.  Scott. 
Officers  as  follows:  Geo.  C.  Cockrell,  P.  C.j  Geo.  W.  Herdman,  C.  C.; 
Henry  T.  Nail.  V.  C;  W.  S.  Bowman,  Prelate;  Geo.  M.  Eaton.  M.  (if  K.; 
Charles  E.  Casey,  M.  of  I'.:  H.  1'.  Stelle.  K.  of  R.  ahd  S.;  A.  H.  Barren, 
M.  at  A.;   Henry  Nevius,  1.  G.;  John  Wiley,  0.  G. 

Some  other  organization  have  had  an  existence  (which  flour- 
ished for  a  season,  and  then  died)  that  need  not  here  be  enu- 
merated. The  present  status  of  the- Odd  Fellows  may  be  in- 
ferred when  we  state  that  lodges  may  be  found  in  good  "working 
order  at  Jerseyville,  Elsah,  Gratton,  Otterville  and  Fieldon — 
with    an    encampaient  at  Jeiseyville.     Masonic  lodges  may  be 


34  History  of  Jersey  County. 

found  at  Jerseyville,  Fidelity,  Grafton,  Otterville  and  Fieldon — 
with  a  Royal  Arch  chapter  at  Jerseyville. 

The  banking  interest  was  first  represented  by  A.  M.  Black- 
burn and  others — next  finding  a  rival,  after  a  number  of  years, 
in  the  house  of  Darcy,  Teas  &  Cheney — and  these  giving  way 
to  Wm.  Shephard  &  Co.,  and  Shephard  &  Son,  and  again  to 
Bowman  &.  Ware,  while,  in  the  meantime,  Cross  &  Swallow 
started  a  new  institution,  which  has  been  changed  to  Cross,  Car- 
lin  &  Co.,  and  latterly  to  the  First  National  Bank  of  Jerseyville. 

Manufacturing  has  largely  gone  into  the  shape  of  flouring 
mills.  The  large  production  and  the  excellent  quality  of  wheat 
raised  in  Jersey  county  seemed  to  demand  this;  hence,  some 
four  mills  have  been  built  at  Jerseyville,  two  at  Giafton,  one  at 
Jersey  Landing,  one  at  Fieldon,  one  at  Fidelity,  one  at  Otter- 
ville, and  one  at  East  Newbern.  Some  of  these  have  been  turned 
down,  and  others  rebuilt  and  enlarged,  so  that  the  general  aver- 
age has  been  more  than  adequate  to  supply  the  home  demand, 
and  leave  a  large  surplus  for  shipping. 

A  paper  mill  was  started  at  Jersey  Landing,  with  a  fair  pros- 
pect of  success,  but,  when  burned  down,  it  was  not  rebuilt. 
Other  interests  have  at  times  been  started,  but,  in  turn,  have  fail- 
ed. Geo.  Wharton  laid  the  foundations  for  a  large  business  in 
the  way  of  manufacturing  agricultural  implements,  but  a  suc- 
cession of  bad  seasons  drove  him  away,  and  that  department  of 
industry  has  since  been  prosecuted  by  Robert  Newton,  whose 
energy  and  enterprise  seem  to  be  in  a  fair  way  to  achieve  an 
honorable  and  distinguished  success. 

The  Jersey  County  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Association 
has  been  successful  from  the  start.  It  has  never  failed  to  pay  its 
way.  Tact  in  administration,  zeal  in  the  work,  with  judicious 
advertising,  seem  to  be  the  elements  which  have  contributed 
most  largely  to  its  prosperity.  Its  premium  list  for  the  current 
year  shows  no  step  backward  upon  its  predecessors.  While 
larger  and  more  wealthy  counties  have  failed,  this  society  has 
written  "Excelsior"  upon  its  banner,  and  has  made  every  year 
an  improvement  upon  that  which  preceded  it  Of  course,  with 
such  a  spirit,  agriculture  has  received  an  impulse  and  direction 
commensurate  with  its  position  as  the  great  industry  of  the 
people. 


History  of  Jersey  County.  35 

We  close  this  review  by   recalling  the   contrast   presented  at 

the  first  settlement,  about  sixty  years  ago.  To  those  who  watched 

the  departure  of  the  pioneer  from  his  eastern  home,  the  lines 

of  Brainerd  seem  most  fitly  to  apply: 

Far  away  from  the  hillside,  the  lake  and  the  hamlet, 
The  rock  and  the  hrook,  and  yon  meadow  so  gay; 
From  the  foot-path  that  winds  by  the  side  of  the  streamlet, 

From  his  hut  and  the  grave  of  his  friend  far  away. 
He  has  gone  where  the  footsteps  of  man  never  ventured. 
Where  the  glooms  of  the  wild-tangled  forest  are  centered. 
Where  no  beam  of  the  sun  or  the  sweet  moon  have  entered, 
No  blood-hound  has  roused  up  the  deer  with  his  bay. 

He  has  left  the  green  valley,  for  paths  where  the  bison 
Roams  through  the  praries  or  leaps  o'er  the  flood  ; 

Where  the  snake  in  the  swamp  sucks  the  deadliest  poison, 
And  the  cat.  of  the  mountains  keeps  watch  for  his  food. 

But  the  leaf  shall  be  greener,  the  sky  shall  be  purer, 

The  eyes  shall  be  clearer,  the  rifle  be  surer. 

And  stronger  the  arm  of  the  fearless  endurer. 
That  trusts  naught  but  Heaven  in  its  way  through  the  wood. 

Light  be  the  heart  of  the  poor  lonely  wanderer. 

Firm  be  his  step  through  each  wearisome  mile. 
Far  from  the  cruel  man,  far  from  the  plunderer, 

Far  from  the  track  of  the  mean  and  the  vile. 
And  when  death,  with  the  last  of  its  terrors,  assails  him. 
And  all  but  the  last  throb  of  memory  fails  him. 
He'll  think  of  the  friend,  far  away,  that  bewails  him, 

And  light  the  cold  touch  of  death  with  a  smile. 

And  there  shall  the  dew  shed  its  sweetness  and  lustre. 

And  there  for  his  pall  shall  the  oak-leaves  be  spread; 
The  sweet-briar  shall  bloom,  and  the  wild  grapes  shall  cluster, 

And  o'er  him  the  leaves  of  the  ivy  be  shed. 
There  shall  they  mix  with  the  fern  and  the  heather. 
There  shall  the  young  eagle  shed  its  first  feather. 
The  wolves,  with  their  wild  dogs,  shall  lie  then'  together, 

And  moan  o'er  the  spot  where  the  hunter  is  laid. 

Now,  when  the  East  and  the  West  are  riveted  together  with 
iron  bands;  when,  from  the  great  valley,  the  seaboard  can  be 
leached  in  a  little  more  than  thirty  hours — what  wonder  the 
buffalo  and  his  hunter  should  be  counted  among  the  things  of  a 
by-gone  time?  That  the  prairie  and  the  swamp  alike  should 
yield  to  the  hand  of  culture?  That  the  wilderness,  and  the  sol- 
itary place,  "where  no  man  dwelt,"  should  be  made  the  home 
of  thronging  millions?  In  this  wonderful  development,  the 
people  who  are  before  me  to-day  can  proudly  say:  "  We  and 
our  fathers  have  contributed  our  share. "  And  in  this  Centen- 
nial Anniversary  of  the  Great  Republic,  can   charge  the    rising 


36  History  of  Jersey  County. 

generation  to  be  mindful  of  the  energy  of  patriotic  sires  whor 
by  patient  toil,  subdued  the  wilderness;  by  deeds  of  valor,  over- 
came the  savage  foe,  and  raised  up  memorials  of  virtue  in  the 
churches  which  they  planted,  in  the  schools  which  they  nour- 
ished, in  (he  commerce  which  they  cherished,  and  in  the  asso- 
ciations which  they  established.  That  from  the  heights  to  which 
our  country  has  arisen,  there  may  be  no  descent,  no  falling  away. 
Upward  let  them  rise, onward  let  them  press;  and,  when  another 
century  shall  pass,  the  sun,  in  his  circuit  round  the  earth,  will 
shine  upon  a  world  redeemed  from  the  tyrannv,  the  darkness, 
and  the  superstition  of  ages,  as  the  "■  Fatherhood  of  God  and 
the  Brotherhood  of  Man  "  shall  be  everywhere  acknowledged. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 
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HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  JERSEY  COUNTY.  ILLI 


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